Project Nadia
by thomaswriter
Summary: Centered around Nadia and a new anti-hero I created. Partial re-write of S4/major re-write of S5. Some mild language throughout. Warnings will be posted for particularly violent chapters. Part 1 (main story) of Tom Falk series
1. Table of Contents

**PROJECT NADIA**

I had a long explanation for this earlier, but, in short, I'm redoing this because after I got done writing it and posting it, I realized that there was so much more I could do. So, I'm rebuilding this from scratch.

Episodes will be posted as soon as I deem them ready. I have no set timetable this time around.

For those of you who are new to my writing, Tom Falk is the Byronic anti-hero that I created. Vic Mackey from 'The Shield' was my main inspiration for him.

**Table of Contents**

**1. **Chapter 1- "Hello, My Name Is..."

**2. **Chapter 2- "Blanket Party"

**3. **Chapter 3- "Picked Off"

**4. **Chapter 4- "Like Napoleon"

**5. **Chapter 5- "Strength and Honor"

**6. **Chapter 6- "Good and Evil"

**7. **Chapter 7- "Shopping Trip, Part 1"

**8. **Chapter 8- "Shopping Trip, Part 2"

**9. **Chapter 9- "The Orphan and The Devil, Part 1"

**10. **Chapter 10- "The Orphan and The Devil, Part 2"

**11. **Chapter 11- "Meet Edward Landry"

**12. **Chapter 12- "She'll Think I'm Crazy"

**13. **Chapter 13- "The Dance"

**14. **Chapter 14- "Mother Knows Best"

**15. **Chapter 15- "They'll Think We're Crazy"

**16. **Chapter 16- "Family Matters"

**17. **Chapter 17- "Old Friends, New Problems"

**18. **Chapter 18- "End Of The Bargain"

**19. **Chapter 19- "Who The Hell Is Laurent L'Andre?"

**20. **Chapter 20- "Worse Than Death" (Season 4 Finale)

**21. **Chapter 21- "Crossing Lines"

**22. **Chapter 22- "The New Guy"

**23. **Chapter 23- "A Delicate Situation"

**24. **Chapter 24- "The Price Of Silence"

**25. **Chapter 25- "Salvation"

**26. **Chapter 26- "The Price Of Freedom Part 1"

**27. **Chapter 27- "The Price Of Freedom Part 2" (All-Nadia chapter)

**28. **Chapter 28- "The Price Of Freedom Part 3"

**29. **Chapter 29- "Here Comes The Sun"

**30. **Chapter 30- "Training Session Part 1"

**31. **Chapter 31- "Training Session Part 2"

**32. **Chapter 32- "Diary Of A Mother"

**33. **Chapter 33- "Moving Forward"

**34. **Chapter 34- "Old Habits"

**35. **Chapter 35- "Last Minute Addition"

**36. **Chapter 36- "The Greatest Day Of Their Lives"

**37. **Chapter 37- "Glimpses Of The Future"

**38. **Chapter 38- "For Every End..."

**39. **Chapter 39- "...There Is A Beginning"

**40. **Chapter 40- "Omnia Vincit Amor"

**41. **Chapter 41- "Phase One: Headgames"

**42. **Chapter 42- "Phase Two: Disease"

**43. **Chapter 43- "Phase Three: The Okie-Doke"


	2. Ch 1: Hello, My Name is

"**HELLO, MY NAME IS..."**

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 5_

He almost can't contain his excitement.

Tom Falk, a somewhat stocky, but still fit man of average height, blue eyes, and a very short blonde haircut with a widows peak, stands off to the left side of Jack Bristow. Arvin Sloane is standing to Bristow's right at the head of the table. Tom casually looks out at the APO conference room table. He looks at Michael Vaughn, seated to the near right. To Michael's right is Sydney Bristow. To the right of Sydney and at the other head of the table is Marcus Dixon. To Dixon's right going back towards Tom is Marshall Flinkmann.

And then Tom scans over to Nadia Santos. Tom's smirk turns to a full-blown smile as he makes eye contact with her. To his satisfaction, his wide smile is returned with an equally wide one from Nadia.

Tom looks down at the ground, almost embarrased. He just wants to burst. Something about what he's seeing just feels...right. He's got a smirk on his face as he looks back at Nadia and thinks to himself _"I remember when I first met you, Nadia...that feeling of destiny I had when I saw your face...this...this moment in time...it feels like 2001 all over again."_

Tom snaps out of it as the warm moment is broken up by Jack's voice. "As you all know by now, I had planned on bringing in Eric Weiss to APO. However, he took a position with the NSC. His position has been filled by the man standing to my left. I'd like to introduce everyone to Tom Falk. He comes to us with years of experience dealing with the Covenant."

Some eyebrows raise among the APO staff. Sydney thinks for a bit. She then asks "Tom, if you dealt with the Covenant, then why haven't any of us worked with you before?"

Nadia turns in her chair to face Sydney. Tom looks a little panicked now. He wants to keep their past a secret. As much as remembering his past with Nadia makes him happy, it also makes him feel somewhat ashamed.

As Nadia starts to speak, Tom cuts her off, surprising her a bit. "First of all, let me just say it's an honor to be working with you, Sydney. I was told about your skills before I joined."

Sydney cocks her head a bit at that. "By who?" Tom smirks. "James Lennox says hello."

A smile quickly forms on Sydney's face while a few of the other APO members pick up on the name. Sydney asks "You worked with Lennox? How is he?" Tom chuckles a bit at that comment. "Worked with him? He was my boss! And, to answer your second question, just fine...just wish he'd be easier to get a hold of."

Sydney laughs a bit as Tom continues. "Anyway, getting back to your original question, our division, which was called CIA Dark Cover, dealt specifically with projects that Covenant Special Sciences was into. Project Helix was one of them. There were also some other projects that we were interested in."

Vaughn, now curious, asks "What kind of other projects?" Tom turns to Vaughn. "All kinds of strange, and even downright macabre stuff." Tom then starts scanning the table again. "Is anyone here an X-Men fan?"

Marshall is the only one that raises his hand. Tom turns to Marshall. "Well, there was a guy who literally was trying to turn people into mutants, like from the comic book." Marshall leans forward, now very intrigued. With his trademark sheepish smirk, he says "Really? Did he ever turn anyone into another Wolverine?"

Tom shakes his head. "Not that I'm aware of. But, we did come across another doctor that..." Tom's looks away for a bit as his confident look turns to a troubled one for a moment. He quickly snaps out of it and looks back at Marshall with his original confident expression. "...was successful in replacing a part of someone's skeletal system with titanium replicas."

Marshall raises his eyebrows a bit and looks like he wants to ask something, but before he can, Jack cuts him off. "Tom will not be a full-fledged field agent, but he will be available in a support role." As Jack says that, Tom rolls his eyes, which Sydney and Nadia notice.

Sydney, looking at a now-irritated Tom, asks "Why is that?" Tom darts his eyes back over to Sydney. "The CIA...not me, I want to emphasize that...feels I'm too much of a health risk in the field. I have a medical issue."

Sloane, rather dryly, cuts him off. "It's an issue that neither the CIA nor Tom apparently feel like disclosing." Tom turns to Sloane quickly and has a scowl on his face. "We all have our secrets, don't we?"

Sloane keeps his blank expression and glare as the rest of the team picks up on the tension between the two. After a few seconds, Jack breaks the tension. "It's possible, down the road, that Tom could become field-rated. But either way, he's here for intel gathering and support."

Sloane looks out at the office area. "Tom, I noticed you put your things on the desk next to Nadia's. Of all the desks here, why did you choose that one?" Tom cracks open a smirk on his face, and goes to say something before he's cut off by a female voice.

"Probably because we've worked together before."

Tom and Sloane both quickly turn their attention away from each other to Nadia, who just said those words. Everyone else does too. Tom tries to hide a look of disappointment in his face, as he wanted that little detail to be kept a secret...at least for now.

An astonished Sydney tells Nadia "You never told me this!"

Before Nadia can elaborate, Tom cuts her off. "We collaborated a couple of times over the years. In fact, she's one of the reasons I came here. I figured if she found her way here, I guess you guys look for quality in your agents. I'm just glad to be one of them."

Nadia looks down and has a flattered look on her face. Tom notices and a smirk that is now becoming more and more of a trademark of his returns to his face.

Jack, seeing an opportunity to end the introduction, speaks up. "Alright, let's get back to work everyone. Tom, take all the time you need to get settled in." Tom looks over at Jack and extends his hand and says"Thanks again for bringing me aboard."

Jack, a little surprised at Tom's gesture, shakes it. Tom then looks over at Sloane, gives him a little glare, and then walks off with the rest of the team out of the conference room.

As Tom is walking out, we see Sloane literally staring a hole into Tom's back. Jack notices. "What is it?" Sloane keeps staring for a second, then turns to Jack with a somewhat perturbed look on his face. "I don't like him. He's going to be a loose cannon." Jack snaps back "Nadia is also a loose cannon, to a degree."

Sloane now looks visibly upset. "I can handle her. But this man already hates me. I don't want him here." Jack raises his eyebrows a bit. "I'm surprised at your reaction."

Sloane, for the rare times we can document, looks confused. "How so?" Jack quickly replies "Tom and Nadia have a history. You saw how they embraced before the meeting started. They appear to get along quite well..." Sloane fires back "...too well."

Jack shrugs a little. "Even so, ,maybe we can learn more about them if they work together. Besides, Nadia seems happy he's here. I thought that would make YOU happy."

Sloane sighs a bit as he ponders Jack's last sentence. "Well, you did me a favor letting me bring in Nadia, and you seem to think that Tom is a fit here. I'll go along with it, but know this, Jack...he's your problem."

Sloane storms out of the office. Jack thinks what just transpired for a bit. When he interviewed Tom for the position, he knew Tom did not like the prospect of working under Sloane one bit when he interviewed him for the position. But now, he wonders if that tension will lead to a potential explosion down the road.

* * *

><p><em>Marshall's Office<em>

Marshall walks back into his office and starts typing something on a computer. His office is the typical cluttered mess that it always has been. He appears to be really getting focused in on his work before he hears "Hey!" to his left.

Marshall jumps up a bit and looks to his left. He sees Tom standing in the doorway. "Whoa! Don't do that!" Tom laughs a bit. "Just testing ya. The last operations tech guy I worked with was jumpy too."

Marshall composes himself for a bit, then freezes as Tom walks over with his hand outstretched. "I just wanted to formally introduce myself. Marshall, right?" Marshall gives a timid smile and shakes Tom's hand. "Yeah, Marshall Flinkmann." Tom notices that Marshall's palms are a little sweaty, probably nerves from being startled, but he doesn't let it bother him too much.

Tom, casually wiping off his hand on his pants, asks Marshall "I understand you've worked with most of these guys for a long time." Marshall shrugs a bit. "Yeah, they're kinda like family. I mean...I have a family...at home...a wife and kid, actually...these guys are just a family away from my ACTUAL family...yeah."

Tom chuckles a bit, apparently understanding where he's coming from. "I can respect that. Back in Dark Cover, I became really good friends with my last op-tech. In addition to being invaluable in the field, I've found that he could sometimes lend a...different perspective on things that are going on than a normal agent would."

Marshall thinks about that statement for a bit. "I know I'm a bit of a nerd, but that doesn't..." Tom, surprised by Marshall's reaction, cuts him off. "Oh no! My last op-tech was a huge nerd, too. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew him." Marshall raises his eyebrows a bit. "Really? What's his name?" Tom fires back "David Marston."

Marshall's smile fades and he starts looking down at the floor. "I wondered what became of him." Tom looks surprised at that last statement. "So, you do know him." Marshall looks up. "Did. I mean, we weren't like, friends, or anything, but I knew OF him. Last I heard, he was wanted for breaking into the FBI database, then he just sorta...disappeared. I just assumed he died."

Tom smirks. "No, I got to him before that could happen. CIA Cybercrime wanted him bad. But, our division was just starting out, and I needed an op-tech for my tactical team, and I thought he could be an asset. He was a huge help over the years, and, in the process, he cleaned up his act. The guy now has a wife and two kids and is a CIA freelancer." Marshall smiles a bit. "That's good to hear. Tell him..." Marshall tries to act cool now. "...the Flinkmaster says hey!"

Tom gives Marshall a quizzical look. "I'll never understand you computer guys...but I'll pass along the message. Anyway, I look forward to working with you. If I need any advice, you might see me from a time to time." Tom gives Marshall a somewhat stiff slap on the shoulder. As Tom walks away, Marshall is seen rubbing the shoulder a bit.

* * *

><p><em>Tom and Nadia's Desk<em>

Tom has a confident smirk as he walks back towards his desk. As he turns the corner, he spots Nadia sitting at her desk, which is caddy-corner to Tom's off the the left. Tom smirk grows wider as he walks up to his box that he brought with him.

He looks in it for a bit, then pauses. He could feel it rising within him again, just like it did in the conference room. This time, he can't stop it.

From out of nowhere, he starts laughing. This makes Nadia jump a bit, as she didn't realize he was standing there. After realizing it's Tom, she looks at him a little puzzed. "What is it?"

Tom shakes his head and looks at Nadia, still laughing somewhat. "Here we are. Right here. Right now. Three and a half years after you save my life, and here we are." Nadia smiles wide. "I always knew this day would come. I knew we'd work together again."

Tom sits down, but as he does, he appears to be in deep thought. After a few seconds, Tom looks back at Nadia. "You know, something inside me told me the exact same thing. Even after you got promoted at Argentine Intelligence and started doing deep cover work, I never worried about whether I'd see you again."

Nadia folds her arms on the desk and leans forward casually. "Maybe we just have a special connection. Sometimes, good friends develop that. Even though we hadn't seen each other since that day, I'm happy we kept in touch for as long as we did." Tom nods. "I agree."

Tom then leans back. He thinks about whether he wants to say what he's about to say. Nadia picks up on Tom's trepidation. "What?" Tom, who was looking down at the ground, looks back up at Nadia. "When Jack recruited me for this job, I wasn't sure either way whether I was going to take it or not at first. But something happened that made this a no-brainer."

Nadia, listening intently, asks "What happened?" Tom cracks a small smirk. "I found out you were here."

Nadia looks away astonished, not exactly sure what to think. Still looking away, she mumbles in disbelief "You...came here because of me?" Tom reaches over and gently grabs Nadia's chin and turns her head towards his. "Yes. Nadia, I don't have a lot on this earth. I have no family, and I only have three people that I consider good, solid friends: Mike and David, my brothers from Dark Cover...and you."

Still in disbelief, Nadia replies "I'm glad you consider me a good friend. I'm just surprised that you would come here just because of me." Tom, still leaning forward, replies "The subject matter here also attracted me, along with the interesting inter-office chemistry that exists here..." Nadia lets out a small laugh. "Yeah, it's like one big, strange family here!"

Tom nods his head, but doesn't say anything as he leans back in his chair. Nadia, still leaning forward, calmly says "Don't get me wrong. I am happy you're here. I really am." Tom chuckles a bit, breaking up the tender moment. "You better be! I still have a lifedebt that I have to pay back!"

The two laugh a bit. Nadia, still smiling, then shakes her head. "I've told you ever since that day, don't worry about it!" Tom quickly replies "No, I made the promise, and I have to keep it!"

Tom then looks sincerely at Nadia. He leans back over towards Nadia and gently grabs her hand. Tom looks into Nadia's eyes deeply. "I understand things have been rough for you for the past few months. If you ever need anything, ANYTHING...let me know. I'm here for you." Nadia casually looks down at Tom's hand holding hers. She thinks for a bit, then looks back up at Tom with a small smile. "I appreciate it."

Tom lets go of Nadia's hand, then stands up and asks "So, when do I get the nickel tour of this place?" Nadia opens up a wide smile as she stands up too. Nadia steps out from behind her desk and commands Tom to "Follow me." Tom follows Nadia down the row of desks.

Meanwhile, while they walk down the row, we see Sloane observing the two from his office. He looks like he's in deep thought as he sees them together. What's going through his head...only he knows.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Note: This is a taste of how this story will be written. If I don't write about it, assume everything else that happened in the actual show happened. If Tom's not in a scene or is not a major part of a scene or storyline, I won't waste your time mentioning it. Just assume he did what Weiss did. This story will mostly just stay on the major points of his storyline, so don't be surprised if the episode timeline jumps around a bit. This is being written mostly as how Tom's sees and perceives things.<strong>_

_**Also, I'm not going to tell you to read the prequel, "Eye of the Storm", before this. There's benefits for reading this or the prequel first, in my opinion, and you can really go either way. **_

_**Oh, and I own nothing and this is purely for entertainment purposes.**_


	3. Ch 2: Blanket Party

**BLANKET PARTY**

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 6_

* * *

><p><em>Note: Episode 6 is titled "Nocturne." This is the episode where Sydney starts having hallucinations after getting bitten by Jason Cahill. It's revealed that Jason and Nancy Cahill came in contact with a drug that causes a melatonin imbalance, causing extreme violence and irrationality. At the point I start Tom's role in this episode, Jack has found out that Jason was going to meet with "The Count". However, details on this person are a little...vague and the team would meet with him without knowing anything about him. We pick up immediately after Sloane decides to send Sydney to meet with The Count, but before she, Michael, and Jack leave.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's desk<strong>_

Tom sits at his desk, pondering something. He wanted to speak up during the meeting and offer his assistance in Sydney's mission to meet "The Count". But, he couldn't.

He thought of a possible way to give Sydney some help. He could talk to a certain informant of his who follows strange science like this. But, Tom had a flashback when he came up with this idea...and it troubled him.

_Flashback: It's nighttime and we catch up with a thin, kind of gangly man walking out of a small, urban bar. He appears a little nervous as he looks to the left and to the right. He brushes his neck-length brown hair back and takes a deep breath. He walks right._

_He walks down to the end of the block and stops. He looks right, down a lonely city street that has nothing but cars lined up and down it, presumably patrons of the bar._

_The man sucks up his courage and starts walking down the sidewalk. There's an abandoned building to his right that he's walking by, followed by an alleyway, and followed by yet another old building._

_The man knows that alleyway could be trouble. But, his car is parked directly on the opposite side of that alley, so he has to keep going._

_Just as he starts to turn towards an older, green car, he's jumped by four men from that alleyway wearing masks and nothing but black._

_The men wrap a blanket around him as he's tackled to the ground. The man squirms to try to break free, but he just can't. The blanket covers his face, and no one can hear his screams._

_Two of the men stay down to hold down the man in the blanket while the other two walk back to the alleyway._

_Those men return from the alleyway with golf clubs in their hands._

_One of the men with the clubs, noticeably shorter than the other, gives the other a head-nod. The big guy then grips his golf club tightly, takes a big windup, and comes down hard on the blanket-wrapped body._

_Soon, the shorter man is joining in. Now, they're beating the blanket hard and fast. After about 10 seconds, the shorter man stops and commands the bigger man to stop._

_The shorter masked man orders one of the men holding the blanket down on the beaten man to pull back the cover to reveal his face, which was not touched during the beating._

_The shorter masked man squats down and takes off his mask as the blanket is pulled back to reveal the beaten man's pained face._

_The shorter masked man is Tom Falk. And he doesn't look happy. "Mikey, your faulty security code nearly led my friend Jerome..." Tom points at the bigger masked man that first took whacks at Mikey. "...to his death! Let this beating serve as a lesson...if you feed me information...it better be right! Now, I'm willing to chalk this up to simple incompetence, because if this were anything else, I wouldn't let you walk away with your pathetic, miserable life tonight! Understood?"_

_Mikey, in great pain, nods his head. Tom stands back upright and orders the other three men to leave. The blanket is removed, and Mikey reaches down and grabs his ribs, which he's convinced are smashed to bits._

Back in present time, Tom closes his eyes and just shakes his head. Under his breath, he mutters "And to think, this was mild compared to what I did before I joined Dark Cover."

Tom looks down the hallway towards Jack's office. He wonders if this informant would be useable again after what he did. Tom then stands up and starts walking towards Jack's office, thinking "_What the hell, what do I have to lose? If he's a bust, Sydney can still do her job."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jack's office<strong>_

Tom walks into Jack's office and sees Jack sitting at his desk. Jack looks up casually at Tom. "What is it?" Jack asks.

Tom, standing near the door, says "I understand we don't have a lot of information on this man Sydney's about to meet. I might know a guy that can give us a little insight into 'The Count'. He's someone that follows this kinda weird science closely. He's been useful in the past, but I haven't used him for a while."

Jack is curious about that last sentence. "Why? Is he unreliable?" Tom racks his brain, trying to think how he's going to answer that. Then, he speaks. "He was very reliable up until the last time I dealt with him, when he got an important detail wrong and nearly got a member of my team killed. I've been apprehensive about using him since then, especially since I roughed him up a bit for that little mishap."

Jack raises an eyebrow. "Define 'roughed up a bit'." Tom nods and doesn't hide his disappointment, as he just knew he'd ask that. "Me and my team threw him a blanket party. We beat him pretty bad."

Jack shifts in his chair a bit. "Tom, I know you got your start in a CIA division that asked their agents to do things a little...different. But, I'm going to need to know that you're going to tone down the violence as long as you're here. I don't want a madman on my team."

Tom looks down at his shoes. In a past life, he would have gotten in Jack's face about that statement. He would have made his point loudly and clearly. But, for some reason, the desire to lash out just isn't there. He's just not that guy anymore. Not since that day...

Tom looks up at Jack with a sincere look. "Jack, that man is dead. I'm what stands in his place. I'm here to do the right thing. I'll make contact with this man and let you know if he gives me anything of value."

Jack leans back in his chair, now confused. "Sounds fine to me, but why are you telling me this? Sloane would want to know what's going on."

Tom slowly shakes his head. "If you want to fill him in on the details, that's fine by me. But I don't respect Sloane. You're my leader, not him."

Jack gets an irritated look on his face. "I know you have personal and ethical reasons for not liking Sloane, but he is the leader of APO. I will not act as a messenger between you and him."

Tom lets out a disappointed sigh. Those words Jack said disappointed him. He thought Jack was the true puppetmaster of APO, but as it turns out, Sloane really does pull the strings here. "Very well, Jack. I'll go see what I can dig out of this guy."

Jack then returns to his work, giving Tom his cue to leave.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Downtown LA, outside of the Blue Tiger Tavern<strong>_

It's nighttime and we catch up with Tom standing in the very same alleyway he jumped Mikey from years back. His back is leaning on the left wall of the Blue Tiger Tavern. He's just standing there, looking down at the ground.

He's nervous. He knows he's nervous. Why? This guy he's about to meet should fear HIM. But, Tom also knows that he'd like to make a good impression to Jack and the rest of the team. Well, everyone except for Sloane. He could care less what he thinks. Plus, how is this guy going to react after their last encounter?

His thoughts are interrupted by footsteps to his right. Tom looks over and sees a man walking towards him. Time to break out the old game face.

Tom forces a cocky smirk on his face as he stands off from the wall and turns towards the man, who is wearing a sleeveless hooded sweater.

The man lowers the hood to reveal his face. Tom eyes him down for a second. Yup, still lanky. Still has a bit of a hunch in his walk. Still has that neck-length brown hair. And still looks just plain dirty. Yup, it's Mikey.

Mikey nervously speaks up. "Tom, how are things?" Tom keeps his smirk as he keeps scanning Mikey. Tom's eyes then hits Mikey's hands, which are in his pockets. Tom sternly looks at Mikey's face. "Take your hands out of your pockets."

Mikey does slowly, revealing he wasn't holding anything, much to the relief of Tom. Tom gets his smirk back. "How are you holding up since we went all Tiger Woods on you a few years ago?"

Mikey looks down and closes his eyes. "You broke eight of my ribs. They're healed, but they still bother me somewhat." Tom doesn't break his glare at Mikey, but inside, he does feel a bit of remorse. Oh well, he can't show that.

Tom walks up and gets in Mikey's face. The smirk turns into a sneer. "You nearly got one of my good friends killed because 'you were a few digits off'." A now very-nervous Mikey cuts Tom off. "I KNOW! I KNOW! It will never happen again!"

Tom nods his head, apparently satisfied. He backs off a step. "Good. Now, all I need is information on someone." Mikey nods his head quickly, calming down from his previous fear-filled response. "Sure, anything you need. Who?" Tom snap-replies "The Count."

Mikey thinks for a bit, then tilts his head. "There's a few people that use that nickname. Where is your guy from?" Tom replies "Apparently, he operates out of Bucharest."

Mikey nods his head and looks like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Ah, that one. I know a little bit about him. What do you need to know?" Tom relaxes a bit, but keeps a stern look on his face. "Just basics. We know what he looks like, we just need to know how he operates and if he has any weaknesses."

Mikey nods his head again. "He's kind of a recluse, a guy who really does live the vampire lifestyle. He only deals with people he has a high level of trust with. If he doesn't know you, he gets a little jumpy. Are you the man that's meeting him?" Tom shakes his head. "No, another agent is en route to Bucharest as we speak. She has no prior dealings with him."

Mikey winces a bit. "This could be a problem." Tom chuckles and shakes his head. "Nah, she's good at what she does, plus she'll have backup if anything gets out of hand. Does this person have a name, or is 'The Count' the name his mommy and daddy gave him?"

Mikey laughs nervously. "No, he has a real name! Andres Djerescu...with a 'D'. Former Romanian national..." Mikey looks like he's drawing a blank now. "I'm afraid that's about all I know about him."

Tom nods. That's enough for him. A name and some personality traits. Oh, there was something else...

"One other thing, Mikey. A woman committed suicide after being infected by a drug that causes a melatonin imbalance. Her last words were 'tell them it's funny'. Does that mean anything to you?"

Mikey shrugs. "Not to me, personally. But...I've heard this expression used among the science community. I can do some digging and give you a call if I find anything."

Tom nods his head satisfied. Internally, he's pleasantly surprised. This actually has turned out to be a productive meeting.

Tom reaches into his right pocket and pulls out a business card and a wad of cash. He hands both to Mikey. "There's my card, call me on my office number if you find anything. And there's the money I promised you." Tom turns and starts walking away.

From behind Tom's back, we can hear Mikey say "Thank you for letting me be of serv..." Mikey has stopped because, as he's counting his money, he notices something out of place. "Tom! This is more than our agreed upon price!" Tom, still walking away, now has a smile on his face. "Next time I talk to you, I hope you remember my generosity!"

Mikey cracks a wide smile on his face. This meeting went better than expected for him, too.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's car<strong>_

Tom punches a number on his cell phone.

Meanwhile, on the plane that's bound for Bucharest, Jack Bristow's cell phone rings. He looks down and recognizes the number and answers. "Tom? You have something?"

Tom cracks a smirk. "Yeah, my guy came through. 'The Count' is really a former Romanian national named Andres Djerescu, that's D-J-E-R..." Jack nods his head impatiently. "I know the spelling. Anything else?"

Tom nods. "Yeah, Sydney needs to be EXTRA careful when meeting with him. Apparently he's not the most social guy in Bucharest. He gets jumpy if someone he doesn't know tries to start up a conversation with him. I'd make sure you or Vaughn are nearby in case he gets hostile." Jack nods his head. "I suspected as such. Anyway, we'll look up Djerescu's information from here. Thanks for the help."

Jack hangs up before Tom can return the thanks. Tom just shrugs a bit, then smiles widely. For the first time in months, he feels useful again. "Mission accomplished" he utters as he starts his car and drives off.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's desk at APO<strong>_

Tom sits back down at his desk, having just returned from his meeting with Mikey. Nadia is sitting at her desk and notices that Tom has a happy expression on his face. "You seem really happy about something."

Tom looks over at Nadia with a wide smirk. "Just a small victory. Had a meeting with an informant that I thought I might have burned a couple years ago. Turns out, with some people, time heals all wounds, physical and emotional. Anyway, I was able to relay some valuable information for Sydney's meet in Bucharest."

Nadia nods her head, but doesn't say anything before returning to her work. Tom takes notice of this. "What are you working on?"

Nadia sighs, still focused on her work. "I'm trying to figure out what Nancy meant by 'tell them it's funny'. Tell WHO it's funny? Anyway, my father wants me to find an answer soon."

Just as she says that, Tom's phone rings. Tom doesn't recognize the number offhand, but he answers it anyway. "Hello? Tom Falk's desk."

Through the phone, Tom hears "Tom, It's Mikey. I just found out the meaning behind 'tell them it's funny'."

Tom scrambles to find a pen and paper. "Ok, what did you find out?" Mikey, from the phone, says "'Tell them it's funny' translates into 'Grappig'. There is a loose group of biochemists called the 'Grappig Group'. They're based out of Prague and their leader is a doctor named Milan Lutuza."

Tom is quickly jotting down this information. He starts to laugh a bit, which causes Nadia to look at him a little funny. Tom finishes writing down the information and casually drops his pen. "Mikey, you've been a big help. Thanks!"

Tom quickly slams down the phone. Nadia is now really curious about Tom's antics. "What was that about?" Tom rips off the sheet of paper he wrote on and hands it to Nadia. "I just solved your problem. Go tell your dad."

Nadia looks over Tom's notes, then reaches over to hand them back. "I can't, you found the information." Tom pushes Nadia's hand with the notes away. "No, it's ok. You can have the glory on this one."

Nadia wants to be flattered, but she senses something else is afoot here. "I can't take the credit for your work..." Tom, who was typing something on his computer, now turns back to Nadia. "If I took this to your father, I'd make you look bad. Plus, don't take this personally, but I honestly don't care if Sloane is happy with my work or not. His opinion means next to nothing to me."

Nadia now looks really confused. "Tom, what do you have against..." Tom, a little irritated at Nadia's unfinished question, cuts her off. "Another time." Tom now forces a smile on his face. "Now, go get him that information."

Nadia finally gets up and heads towards Sloane's office, but doesn't seem too happy about it. Tom notices that and sighs. To himself, he mumbles "Guess I can't make everyone happy today."

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: Tom's information helps lead Jack and Vaughn to get a cure for Sydney's condition. The following scene takes place after Dixon's meeting with Sloane, after Dixon promises to "be waiting" after Sloane reveals his true endgame.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sloane's office<strong>_

As Dixon walks out of the office, Tom is walking in. Tom and Dixon exchange a quick, yet cordial headnod as Sloane returns to his seat behind the desk.

As Dixon walks away, Tom walks towards Sloane. He's not exactly looking forward to this meeting. Tom tries to keep a neutral expression on his face as he stops in front of Sloane's desk. "You wanted to see me?"

Sloane leans back in his chair and has a smile on his face. "You did good work today. The information you provided over the phone to Jack was very helpful." Thinking that Sloane believes Nadia found the Grappig information and not him, Tom shrugs a bit and plays it nonchalantly. "No problem. Always good to learn that some bridges you thought you burned in the past are actually still intact."

Sloane looks away for a bit. "Nadia came in to my office with the information on the Grappig Group. Information that she says...YOU actually found."

Tom now gets an irritated look on his face. Why would she rat him out like that? He wanted her to have the glory, partly just as a nice gesture, but also because of his feelings about Sloane. Tom, still irritated, says "You tasked that information to her. I merely got lucky when my informant researched that information. I didn't want to steal her thunder."

Sloane doesn't seem convinced. "She didn't feel comfortable taking the credit." Tom nods his head. "Well, I'll go apologize to her then. I just didn't feel right taking the credit for something you assigned her."

Tom starts to turn away, but is stopped by Sloane's voice. "Stop, I'm not finished." Tom turns back around to face Sloane, who keeps his gaze at Tom and says "I understand you don't feel the need to let me in on things that you do here." Tom takes a deep breath. Did Nadia rat him out on that, too? "Who said that?" Tom asks, a little frustrated.

Sloane, rather dryly, says "Jack told me before he left. He also says that you have some animosity towards me. That you don't feel I'm worthy of your respect." Now, Tom is pissed. He's now wondering if he read Jack completely wrong. "I'm not in the business of impressing criminals...or absentee fathers."

Sloane cracks open a small smile at that last part. "Ah, so that's why. You feel I've mistreated Nadia in the past..." Tom can now feel the anger in him bubbling up to the surface as he cuts Sloane off. "...NO! You've mistreated Nadia her whole freaking life!"

Sloane isn't the least bit phased by Tom's anger. "Why do you feel that is your cross to bear? My issues with Nadia are none of your concern." Tom leans across the table and gets as close to Sloane's face as he can. If he were a volcano, he'd be spewing lava now. "Nadia holds a very special place in my heart. She saved my life three and a half years ago and I owe her my entire freaking existence on this earth for that. Besides, it's clear that you don't know a damn thing about me. If you read my file, you'd know that I often chose to be a lightning rod for my tactical team. I've also done things in my life that I know have earned me a one-way ticket to hell. But, as long as a heart beats in my chest, I'll always look out for my friends. Because they're worth a whole lot more than I am."

Tom keeps his angry gaze at Sloane. Internally, Tom is a bit disappointed in himself. Normally, he wouldn't show his hand like that. But, he just couldn't contain himself. At least he didn't do something else with his anger. Something he really would have regretted.

After a few seconds, Sloane speaks up. "That's very interesting. I appreciate you looking out for Nadia. And, for what it's worth to you, I do appreciate the work you did today. But you're wrong if you think that my opinion doesn't count for anything. I need to know that you'll be forthcoming in the future if you come across anything."

Tom leans back from the table. He sighs, trying to calm down a little. It's not really working, though. Grudgingly, Tom says "Fine. Anything else?" Sloane shakes his head quickly. "No, have yourself a good night."

Tom turns and leaves the office, a little frustrated at Sloane and a little frustrated at himself. It had been a pretty good day up to this point.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Tom's desk<em>**

A visibly-disappointed Tom walks to his desk and starts gathering his things to go home. Nadia notices Tom's sour look and knows instantly what happened. "You talked to my father."

Tom stops what he's doing and looks at her. "All I wanted to do was help you. That was the main reason why I had you deliver the information. If this made you look that much better in your father's eyes..."

Nadia cuts him off. "Tom, I'm my own woman. I've survived this long without many favors..." This time, Tom cuts her off. "We both know why you had to fend for yourself. And that reason is sitting in the office I just walked out of."

Nadia sighs. She was worried that Tom's rift with Sloane was related to her. "Tom, I've forgiven my father for not being in my life. I want to believe he's changed. And I don't want my father to come between our friendship."

Tom looks down at the ground. He feels bad for Nadia. He knows all about absentee fathers, and holds no love for them whatsoever. But Nadia's case is different from his. His dad was just a drunk. Her dad is a true monster. But, Nadia wants him to be something else, and this troubles Tom. But he doesn't want Sloane to get between them either.

Tom looks back up at Nadia. "I want to believe he's a good person, too. For your sake. But, I'm finding that's a tough sell." Tom then sighs a bit. "However, I've learned in the past few years of being a leader that respect is earned through your actions. I might be willing to bury my feelings about your father eventually, but it's not going to come overnight."

Tom then reaches out and gently grabs Nadia's hand. "But for you, I am willing to try." This comforts Nadia a lot. Nadia looks into Tom's eyes and smiles. "I appreciate it."

Seeing as levity has returned, Tom lets go of Nadia and grabs his suit jacket and throws it on. Now, he's thinking about doing something that he knows might completely backfire on him. Tom looks back over at Nadia, who's also getting ready to leave for the day. He then decides to just suck it up and ask.

"Do you have a ride home?"

Nadia stops in her tracks. She actually hadn't thought about that. Normally, she rides home with Sydney, but she's in the hospital and Nadia's not sure where she keeps the car keys.

Nadia looks over at Tom casually. "Actually, no." Tom nods his head. "Well, I can give you a lift if you want. Are you hungry?"

Nadia now sees where this is going. She cracks a smirk of her own on her face. "Why? Are you asking me out on a date?" Tom pops open a grin quickly and wastes no time in replying "Yes. I WILL treat you to something today, and if you won't take my information, maybe you'll take my gift of food."

Nadia laughs at that. She doesn't immediately answer, which makes Tom a little nervous. Finally, Nadia stops laughing and composes herself. "Ok! Ok! But, only if you take me to a place we can sit down and catch up. We really haven't had a chance to do that since you got here."

Tom smiles widely. "Might be hard at this time of night, but it's a deal! Let's go!" Tom and Nadia walk out together big smiles on their faces.

As they walk out, Tom thinks back about the day's events. He exercised a demon of his when he was able to use an informant he thought he had burned a long time ago. Then, he thought the day was lost when he clashed heads with Sloane.

But, as he walks out with Nadia to go out on a date, Tom realizes something:

This was the best day he's had in a year and a half. And technically, it wasn't even over yet.


	4. Ch 3: Picked Off

**PICKED OFF**

_Timeline of episode: Between Season 4, Episodes 6 and 7_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kitchen 24 Diner<strong>_

Tom and Nadia are seated at a private corner booth at a 24-hour diner in Los Angeles. They're the only ones in the place. At first glance, they appear to be really enjoying each other's company. Their plates are empty in front of them, and now, they're enjoying some mixed drinks. Nadia is drinking a Mojito while Tom has what looks like a Tequila Sunrise.

Tom is laughing at something while Nadia has a wide smile on her face. Tom stops laughing for a bit to inquire about something he just heard Nadia say. "So, you accidentally set off the sprinklers, you're drenched from head to toe, and yet, you still have to blend in to the party? How did you pull that off?" Nadia, still smiling wide, quickly replies "Well, I remembered the restrooms had these hand dryers..."

Tom's eyes open wide astonished. "You mean..." Nadia cuts him off. "Yeah, I had to keep hitting the button! But I got dried off eventually! And the documents dried off before they got ruined. Then, I just made my way through the party and left. No one suspected a thing. It turned out ok."

Tom leans back and shakes his head in amazement. "That's some pretty wild improvising." Nadia non-chalantly shrugs, not as amazed about the story as Tom is. "Whatever it takes...oh wait, that's your line."

Tom chuckles a bit at that. "Yeah, yeah, that was my motto. I'm surprised you would remember something like that." Nadia rolls her eyes. "You only said it every time we would talk on the phone! You were a broken record!"

Tom rolls his eyes a bit and leans forward with a smirk. "Well, speaking of broken records, my 'whatever it takes' was your 'it turned out ok'. I didn't forget that either!" Nadia leans back and folds her arms in mock disgust as Tom takes a sip of his drink.

He notices his drink is getting empty and so is Nadia's. "You want another one?" Nadia nods her head. "Sure! Thank goodness we're off tomorrow!" Tom turns and flags down a waiter, who walks over to their table. "Mojito for her, and change my drink to a Vanilla Coke." The waiter nods and walks off.

Nadia notices that Tom didn't order alcohol this time. In a somewhat mocking tone, she asks Tom "Chickening out already?" Tom raises an eyebrow at Nadia. "Uh, do you want me to be able to drive you home or not? When it comes to tequila-based drinks, I'm a lightweight."

Nadia smirks, but doesn't say anything. Then, her cheery expression turns into a serious one as she stares at the table for a bit, troubled over something. Tom notices that Nadia appears to be in deep thought now. "You ok, Nadia?"

Nadia looks back up at Tom. "I've been thinking about something you said at your first day in APO." Tom leans forward on the table. He's a little concerned now, caused by Nadia's look of concern on her face. "What is it?"

Nadia continues. "You said you have no family and only three friends left on this earth, including me. I always thought you were surrounded by people you were close with."

Tom sighs and looks down at the table. He and Nadia had spent most of their conversation talking about Nadia's experiences. But, he knew he was going to have to address some of his past at some point.

But not now. He's having too much fun, and the tenor of the evening was cheerful, and he didn't want to ruin that. Tom looks back up at Nadia. "I want this night to be a happy one. Maybe another time."

Nadia sighs a bit, then smiles. He does have a point, after all. They were having fun. "I'm sorry I brought that up. But, I've been sharing my stories, let's hear some of yours."

"_Oh great, out of the frying pan and into the fire!" _Tom thinks to himself. After all, he knows that things started going to hell for him in Dark Cover not long after he stopped talking to Nadia. Then, he gets an idea. "I don't think I talked to you much about my career before we met in 2001."

Nadia is intrigued. "No, you haven't, actually." Tom starts to talk, but is interrupted by the waiter dropping off their drinks. They both take a sip of their drinks as the waiter walks off. This buys Tom some time to think about how he's going to play this.

After Tom sets his soda down, he continues. "Well, a few months before I met you, I was finishing up a 10 year run with the CIA's Anti-Cartel." Nadia tilts her head a bit and has a confused expression on her face. "The Anti-Cartel? I've never heard of you guys."

Tom nods his head, expecting that answer. "We didn't go down to Argentina all that often. Most of our focus was in Mexico. We actually had special jurisdictional privileges in Mexico to go after the drug cartels. We had similar agreements with some other Central American countries, but those were tenuous at best due to shaky governments. Our big concerns were the Mexican drug and weapon cartels. We would go into Central and South America only if they were doing things that were really pissing the CIA off, like if a gang was dealing weapons to dictators."

Nadia folds her arms together and leans forward. "Still, seems like I should have heard about you guys." Tom shrugs. "We weren't a big operation. Unlike running a 10-man tactical team in Dark Cover, there were maybe 3-5 guys in my team at any given time. When I first got there, the operation was well-funded, well-staffed, and under the direction of a director that I respected. But after he left, it all went to hell. By the time you got your start in Argentine Intelligence, we were on our last legs."

Nadia takes a drink of her Mojito. As she drinks, a lightbulb goes off in her head. "You know, come to think of it, I did hear some stories of an American agent that liked to cause havoc with Latin American gangs. One man who usually was with a group of two or three others. Was that you?" Tom takes his time drinking his soda, trying to figure out how to handle that. _"What stories did she hear? If she knew certain stories, she'd probably think I was a monster."_ He then sets down his soda, ready to answer. "I had a bit of infamy in Latin America. That was probably me you heard about. I had to be both creative and...aggressive when it came to my dealings."

After that last comment, a lightbulb goes off in Tom's head now. He starts laughing all of the sudden, which confuses Nadia a bit. "What's so funny?" Nadia asks. Tom slowly stops laughing and starts to speak. "You remember my friend Mike, he was with me in our mission in 2001." Nadia nods. "Yeah, the guy with the beard...kind of a quiet, yet cute guy?" Tom chuckles at that. "Yeah, he's pretty laid back. And he'll probably never get married in his life. The guy's eternally single. Anyway, I was just thinking back to a mission where we thought we had lost him." Nadia asks "Lost him?"

Tom nods. "We were in southern Mexico, tracking down a weapon-trading ring. Me, Mike, and two others. Mike tells me he's going down to get a burrito...and he never comes back. We were just convinced that this cartel we were after had gotten to him. So, we infiltrate their compound, and we fight our way down to the area where they keep the prisoners. He's not there. Good news is, during our search and rescue, we did find their cache of weapons, and we get the Mexican authorities to raid the place. Mission accomplished! But, we still couldn't find Mike!"

Nadia asks "Where was he?" Tom gets a wide smirk on his face. "Get this. We get back to our hotel room and we find a note on the door. It's from these local wanna-be gangbangers who are holding him ransom down in the basement of the place. Apparently, he wouldn't buy them a burrito and he wouldn't give them his wallet either. So, here's what we did. We went down and bought them burritos. A bunch of them. We went down to the basement and we were able to negotiate his release for the burritos. Three men, and each of them got like 4 burritos apiece. But, their fun was just beginning. You know those red dye packs that tellers put in their bank bags when they're being robbed?"

Nadia takes a sip off of her drink and sets it down. "Yeah..." Nadia's anxious to see how this ends. Tom continues. "Well, one of my men was really good with explosives. Don't ask me why, but he brought this red dye pack with him that had a remote trigger on it. So, we pack our things, leave, and catch up with these guys as they're leaving the hotel. We follow them until we see a police car coming our direction. My man hits the button to make the dye pack go off, we see the red dye go all over the inside of their car and all over the windows, and they end up blindly crashing into the cop car. Turns out, the cops found more than burritos and red dye on them."

Nadia leans forward and smiles. "What did they find?" Tom smirks and says "Pure black tar heroin. Mike had let me in that they were heroin suppliers, so we baited them. Made the local papers, mainly because when they took their prison photos, they had red dye all over them!" Nadia laughs, and so does Tom. Nadia settles down after a few seconds and says "That's too funny!"

Tom takes another drink of his soda and looks down at his watch and looks shocked. "Whoa, did you know it's 2:30 in the morning?" Nadia almost chokes on her drink. "What? We've been here for 4 and a half hours?" Tom nods. "Time flies when you're having fun! Want me to take you home now?" Nadia nods. "Yeah, that'd be great."

The two of them squeeze out of their booth. Tom pays his bill at the front register, then leaves with Nadia.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside Sydney's apartment<strong>_

Tom follows Nadia up to the front door. He's got a wide smile on his face, still in disbelief over how well this day has gone for him.

They get to the door and Nadia stops and turns towards Tom. She's practically beaming as she says "I had a great time tonight." Tom nods his head in agreement. "I couldn't agree more. It was so great to catch up. You know what made tonight so great?"

Nadia shrugs. Tom says "For the first time in my life, I can talk to a woman I deeply care about and not have to keep my CIA life a secret. I felt so free at the diner tonight with you." Nadia smiles and says "I felt the same way. Thanks for the wonderful evening. I needed this." Tom wastes no time in replying "Me too."

All of the sudden, after Tom is finished saying that, he quickly leans in and gives Nadia a kiss. After a second or two, Tom feels Nadia's hand on the back of his head, pushing him in closer. _"Oh thank God!" _Tom thinks, realizing that his play was successful. They share a rather passionate make-out session for what seems like an eternity to them, but really is just about 10 seconds or so.

Then, the tender moment is suddenly interrupted by the door opening next to them.

Tom and Nadia both jump out and yell out in surprise at the sound of the door. They settle down and realize that Sydney is standing in the doorway, and Vaughn is right behind her.

In her shock, Nadia yells out "Sydney!", followed by Sydney turning and yelling out "Tom!", followed by Tom turning and yelling out "Vaughn!", and followed by Vaughn, right on cue, turning and yelling "Nadia!"

The four keep standing there for a bit, all four in surprise to see each other. Finally, Nadia speaks up. "Sydney, I thought you were in the hospital!" Sydney quickly replies "I just got home a half an hour ago. I heard sounds outside the door!"

Tom looks at Sydney a little agitated. "Well, you just picked me off of first base, thank you!" Sydney puts her hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm SO sorry!"

Tom chuckles and holds his hand up to calm her down. "It's ok, it's ok..." Tom turns and faces Nadia. "Well, on that note, I guess I should be heading off then..." Sydney cuts him off. "Oh, you don't have to go. Me and Vaughn were just going to settle down and watch Shrek 2. You can stay and watch with us if you want."

Tom shakes his head. "No, I don't want to impose..." Nadia cuts him off. "No! You look tired. And, on the way back, you told me you live a little ways away from here. I want you to stay and get some rest."

Tom looks up and thinks. He is starting to drag a bit, and the prospect of driving anywhere seems less attractive to him. Tom looks back at Nadia, smiles, then turns to Sydney. "Well, if it really is ok with you guys, I guess I can stay."

Nadia was happy to hear that. "Good! I'll make us some decaf, I need to shake this buzz!" Tom laughs and looks over at Sydney. "Word of advice, don't ever get into a drinking game with your sister. She must have had 4 or 5 mojitos tonight and she's sober as a bird, I don't care what she says."

Sydney and Nadia both laugh. Nadia just shrugs a bit after laughing while Sydney tells Tom "I appreciate the advice! Now, come on in! It's a little chilly." Tom and Nadia follow her command and enter.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment- The Next Morning<strong>_

The clock on the microwave says it's 1:27. The sun is out, and Sydney stands in the kitchen in her pajamas making coffee. Vaughn and Nadia are sitting at the breakfast bar and look like they just woke up recently too.

They're started by the sound of a sudden snore from behind them. Nadia looks back into the living room and sees a pair of feet hanging from the couch. She smiles, knowing it's Tom Falk.

Nadia turns back around as Sydney pours her a cup of coffee. As she's pouring, Sydney asks Nadia "So, where did you two go last night? We all fell asleep before the movie ended and I never got to ask." Nadia grabs the cup of coffee as Sydney finishes pouring and starts pouring Vaughn a cup. Nadia says "We went to this 24-hour diner called Kitchen 24."

From Nadia's right, we hear Vaughn say "Ah, I know that place. Great danishes." Nadia shrugs a bit. "Wish I had known that! Anyway, it was so wonderful! We had dinner, then just chatted. It went so well, before we knew it, we had been there for over four hours."

Sydney puts the coffee pot away and returns to the counter next to the kitchen sink and leans forward, smiling over the fact that Nadia had fun. "I guess you two had a lot of catching up to do." Nadia nodded. "Yeah, we did. We both missed each other." Vaughn, finishing taking a sip of coffee, asks Nadia "I've been curious, how did you two first meet?"

Nadia gives an embarrassed smile and just shakes her head. Sydney notices and now is really curious. "Come on! I bet it's a good story!" Nadia takes a sip of coffee and sets down her cup. "Ok, it's July of 2001. I was still a trainee for S.I.D.E., but I was due to be made a full agent. I was partnered with a veteran agent named Pedro Colon, and one day, we both were assigned to assist a black-ops CIA division in rescuing a doctor from a local gang called Los Conquistadores. So, we meet in the hotel cantina. I was to told to scan the place before I made my way to their table because, apparently, Tom's team had caused a scene with the Conquistadores earlier that day."

Vaughn tilts his head, confused at that. "What did he do?" Nadia looks over and smirks. "He was scouting their main compound when apparently he stepped on a twig and got discovered. During their escape, one of his team members snipes the son of the gang leader, so we all were worried about retaliation. Anyway, once I found nothing out of the ordinary, I go to the table and I'm told that Tom is at the bar ordering drinks and that I should help him carry the drinks back. So, I go to the bar and..."

Nadia laughs at the end of that. Sydney looks over to the couch and sees Tom's feet stir a bit, but he doesn't wake up. Still looking at Tom's feet, Sydney asks Nadia "What happened at the bar?" Nadia, oblivious to what Sydney is doing, says "Well, when we both laid eyes on each other at the bar...something weird happened to me. He felt that same feeling. I could tell, he couldn't hide it. I think it was love at first sight, but something about it was...strange. Like I was looking at my destiny. I always thought something supernatural was happening, but as time went on, I just kinda laughed it off. But when I saw him again during his first day at APO, that strange feeling returned. It's almost as if we have this special...link with each other or something."

Sydney and Vaughn both stir a bit, not sure how to address that. Eventually, Sydney just shrugs. "Well, considering our roles with Rambaldi, I guess anything seems possible." Nadia smiles a bit. She doesn't particularly like her role in Rambaldi's prophecy, but Sydney did bring up a good point. Vaughn then speaks up. "Jack once told me that you saved his life. Was this the mission where that happened?"

Nadia looks over at Vaughn and nods. "Yeah. We infiltrated the compound and Tom had sent me and Pedro down the hallway to scout for any remaining gang members while he worked on the door that led to where his doctor was being held. Pedro sent me back and when I came back down the hallway, I saw two men with their backs to me. I heard someone talking from around the corner and then Tom's voice. I knew he was in trouble. I snuck up and peeked around the corner and saw that Tom was on his knees and he had a gun pointed at his head. He was a goner. I had to do something. But, up until that point of my career, I only had killed one man..."

Nadia pauses for a bit and looks down at her coffee cup in thought. Sydney, a little curious to see how this story ends, speaks up. "What did you do?" Nadia looks up at Sydney. "I grabbed the guy immediately in front of me and used him as a shield while I killed the guy who had Tom marked for execution, and then I shot the guy to the immediate right of me before I shot my human shield in the back of the head. It all happened so fast! But what stood out afterwards was Tom's reaction!"

Nadia starts to laugh again. Sydney and Vaughn crack cautious smiles. Nadia then slows down her laughing to say "He looked around really quickly and then turned and looked at me with this look of complete shock on this face for a few seconds. Then, he said..." She's cut off by a man's voice behind her:

"Where have you been all my life?"

Nadia, Sydney, and Vaughn all jump when they hear that. They look over to the couch and see Tom is now standing and awake, still in the dress shirt and slacks that he wore yesterday. He looks a little drowsy, but he's got his trademark smirk on his face. Sydney and Vaughn both say at the same time "Good morning!" Tom just gives them a drowsy wave back and mumbles "morning". Nadia then asks Tom "How long have you been awake?"

Tom laughs a bit. "Good morning to you too! I've been up since you started talking about our encounter at the cantina. I've always been curious how that story sounded from your point of view." Nadia shifts in her chair a bit so she can face Tom more. "How'd I do?" Tom chuckles. "You told it good, and you pretty much got it down. Up until the point I cut you off, anyway."

Sydney then motions Tom over to the breakfast bar. "Come on, you can finish the story while I get you a cup of coffee." Tom slowly makes his way over to the table. Before he takes his spot to the left of Nadia, he leans over and gives Nadia a peck on the cheek. Upon hearing the kiss, Sydney, who has her back turned to them as she pours Tom a cup of coffee, says "I am SO sorry for interrupting you guys out on the porch last night."

Tom takes his seat on a stool and says "Well, if your coffee's good, I guess I can forgive you." Sydney turns smiling as he says that with a cup of coffee and hands it to a smirking Tom. Tom takes it and takes a sip, then lets out a relieved sigh and says "All is forgiven." Sydney giggles a bit, then says "Now come on, finish the story."

Tom looks over at Nadia. "Well, we got our doctor. I also ended up helping get Nadia promoted after I gave her a glowing review on her quick reaction skills in the field. But, personally, I was tore up for a while after that mission." Vaughn asks "Because you got put in a predicament?"

Tom looks at him and shakes his head slowly. "No. Because, after the mission was over, every fiber of my being wanted me to ask Nadia out on a date. But I couldn't because I was married at the time." Tom then looks down and shakes his head. "Little did I know that was about the time my marriage was starting to hit the skids. My ex was getting sick of my secret life. We lasted a little under two years after that mission, but one thing seemed to lead into another, she started cheating on me, and then, it all went to hell."

Tom takes another drink of coffee, but looks like he's in a somber mood. Nadia, seeing Tom down in the dumps, reaches over and rubs his shoulder a bit. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that. But, like you told me your first day at APO: Here we are. Right here, right now." Tom looks up and looks over at Nadia, who's got a wide smile on her face. Upon seeing that smile, Tom starts to feel reassured and smiles back. "Exactly."

Tom then goes back to his coffee and lifts up to take a sip. Sydney notices a long, red scar running up Tom's hand and pinkie finger. "How did you get the scar on your hand?" Tom stops in mid-sip and freezes. Vaughn and Nadia are also looking at the scar, and he knows it. He tries to hide his look of trepidation, but he can't. He thinks to himself _"No! They've discovered the very thing I don't want them to know about me! If they know about how I got that scar, they'll know what happened on that day..." _

As he's thinking how he's going to wriggle himself out of this one, all four of their cell phones go off. Tom's is still in his pocket while Sydney's, Nadia's and Vaughn's are on the table. The all see the number. Nadia rolls her eyes. "Come on! On our day off?" Tom looks up at Nadia real quickly. "Oh crap, I didn't bring a change of clothes with me! I can't go into work wearing yesterday's clothes!"

Sydney smiles and says "I have you covered!" Sydney quickly scurries off into her bedroom, leaving the three to wonder what she's going to emerge with.

After about a minute, she emerges with a suit jacket, dress shirt, pants, and a pink tie. "These belonged to Eric Weiss, the guy you replaced. He always kept these here in case he needed to crash here. When he left to join the NSC, he forgot to take them!"

Tom gets up and grabs them from Sydney. He immediately notices something about the clothes. They're huge. To no one in particular, he asks sarcastically "Who was this guy, Paul Bunyan?" Vaughn gets a stern look on his face and says "Hey, that's my friend you're talking about..." Tom looks over at Vaughn. Seeing as he was a little insensitive just now, he says "Sorry, man." Vaughn's eyes open up and he smiles. "I'm just kidding. We always joked about how tall Weiss was."

Tom smirks as he goes back to examining the clothes. "Well, the suit jacket is a bit big, but I can just wear the one I wore yesterday. I should be able to pull off everything else. Might need some clothespins for the pants, though, so I'm not walking all over the bottoms." Tom then lifts up the tie. "He had to choose pink..." Nadia walks up from behind Tom and pats him on the back. "Pink is a good color for you!" Tom slowly turns his head at Nadia with an incredulous look, shakes his head, and walks off with the clothes to the bathroom, while the other three get moving so they can get changed too.

* * *

><p><em>Note: A few minutes later, everyone heads to APO, leading into the events of Season 4, Episode 7, which will be covered in the next chapter.<em>


	5. Ch 4: Like Napoleon

**LIKE NAPOLEON**

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 7_

* * *

><p><em>Episode notes: In the actual series, this is the episode where Sydney and Nadia went to Monte Carlo to find out where a man named Boris Tambor keeps this explosive called Black Thorine. We pick things up in the APO Conference Room, just before the team is set to go out on the mission.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Conference Room<strong>_

He just doesn't feel comfortable.

Tom is seated in the conference room, to the right of Nadia and Marshall and across the table from Sydney and Vaughn. Jack and Sloane are at the head of the table.

Tom squirms in his seat a bit. His dress shirt is just too big and his pants are just too baggy. And of course, he's still revolted at the prospect of wearing a pink tie.

Having already detailed the mission, the next task is field assignments. That's apparently Sloane's job, as he speaks up. "Sydney, Nadia, you two will infiltrate Tambor's suite and determine where he keeps the Black Thorine. Vaughn and Tom..." Tom raises an eyebrow, forgetting his clothing discomfort. "You're gonna put me in, skipper?"

Sloane, unimpressed by Tom's baseball humor, says "Yes, if you think you can handle it. You and Vaughn will be in support." Tom cracks his trademark smirk and appears to not be finished being a smartass. "I won't let you down, coach!"

The team starts to get up to get ready. Sloane has other ideas. "Tom, stay here, I need a word with you." Tom, who was in the process of getting up out of his chair, instead sinks back into it as everyone else leaves the room.

Now, it's just Sloane and Tom. Tom folds his arms, waiting for Sloane to begin. Sloane eyes him down a bit, then speaks. "Your appearance today is rather...interesting." Tom chuckles and just shakes his head. "I crashed at Sydney's last night and I didn't bring a spare set of clothes with me."

Sloane raises a curious eyebrow. "Why were you at Sydney's last night?" Tom snaps back "Why do do you care?" Sloane fires right back "You know why."

Tom stands up and gets in Sloane's face. "I took your daughter out for dinner and drinks, and Sydney and her didn't feel comfortable with me driving home and asked that I stay the night, so I crashed on the couch." Sloane keeps his incredulous look. "Is that what happened?"

Tom furrows his eyebrows and looks pissed now. "I don't have to explain a damn thing I do with Nadia to you. For the record, nothing happened. Let this be the last time we discuss my personal life, got it?" Sloane smirks. "Understood. And you're right, Nadia's a grown woman and can make her own decisions on who she sees."

Tom keeps his angry glare at Sloane. "Can I go now?" Sloane turns and grabs a file at the head of the table where he was sitting. "I did some homework on you last night."

Tom fidgets a bit, but doesn't break his glare. "Oh really?" Sloane looks back up at Tom. "Yes. Before you go out into the field, we need to assign you a codename. Looking at your file, I was thinking that maybe you'd like to go back to your Anti-Cartel roots and become 'Halcon Diablo' again."

Tom opens his mouth slightly, a little shocked at hearing those words again. "Only gang members that hated my ever-living guts called me that, Sloane." Sloane smirks. "Of course. And from what I read about you, it would seem they had some valid reasons for calling you 'the Falcon Devil'. Funny, I thought you were just a little truculent when I first met you, but I didn't have you pegged as a monster."

Tom gets in Sloane's face. "I may have been an evil man in the past, but at least I don't destroy the lives of my own friends and family to get the results I want." Sloane fires back "If you don't destroy the lives of your friends, then how do you explain what happened in Torino in mid-2003?"

Tom closes his eyes. He can feel the hate and anger rising in him. Sloane just crossed a line that Tom did not want crossed. However, Tom realizes that he can't show his weakness to Sloane, so he takes a deep breath, opens his eyes, and responds "What happened in Torino was an accident, caused in part by a rat on my own team, a rat that met his own fate in that very mission. As far as being 'a monster', I am not that man anymore. And if you assign me that codename, not only would I get a bullet put in my brain if we ever had a mission in Latin America, but whoever else was with me would get one too. Give me a different name." Sloane sets down the file. "As you wish. I liked the codename you used in Dark Cover better, anyway."

Tom thinks a bit, then nods. "Maximus it is then." Sloane gives a quick headnod. "Good, it's settled then." Sloane then reaches out his hand in Tom's direction. "I also wanted wish you good luck out there. I know you'll do a good job for us."

Tom looks at the hand for a while, then back up at Sloane. After the exchange they just had, he doesn't seem to be too willing to shake Sloane's hand. "Noted. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to change out of Andre The Giant's clothes and get ready for the mission." Tom then turns and starts walking towards the door, not giving Sloane a chance to respond.

But, before he gets to the doors, he stops and turns back to Sloane. "Oh, and in case you give a damn, Nadia had a great time last night." Sloane gives Tom a sarcastic smile in response. "That's good to hear. Maybe she'll tell me about it later." Tom gives Sloane another angry look and walks out the doors.

As Tom walked towards the entrance of APO, he felt both angry and relieved. Angry that he let Sloane get into his head, but relieved that he didn't do something he would have regretted.

And he still felt uncomfortable in Weiss's clothes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Monte Carlo<strong>_

_Episode note: The mission goes as it happened in the actual episode. Sydney and Nadia defy Sloane's orders and become BFFs with Tambor's ladyfriend, which gains them access to his suite. Nadia successfully clones Tambor's PDA, but nearly gets caught red-handed with it when Tambor gets up as Nadia was slipping the PDA back into his suit jacket. But, Nadia saves the day by saying she found it in the couch. Meanwhile, Tom's role in this mission is similar to Weiss's, which is mostly fawning over Nadia. However, I found it hard to write his lines without writing out the complete mission details. I tried to focus just on Tom in the original Project Nadia, but it ended up turning out horrible and was actually one of my inspirations for blowing that thing up in the first place. Let's just say Tom was very impressed with Nadia's improvisational skills, and we'll address that now. We pick back up after Sloane scolds Sydney and Nadia for their actions in Monte Carlo._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's desk<strong>_

We catch up with Tom at his desk, filling out what appears to be a report of some kind. As he's doing that, he's smiling. It felt good to be back out in the field, even if his role in the mission was a minor one. It also felt good seeing Nadia in action and pulling off a miracle.

Just as he's thinking that, he looks up and notices Nadia walk by and sit down at her desk. Tom looks cheery and about to say something, but he notices that she has a long look on her face. Immediately, he changes course. "Hey, is something wrong?"

Nadia looks at Tom a little somber. "My father was unhappy that me and Sydney defied his orders." Tom turns around and looks into Sloane's office. He sees Sloane is now talking with Jack about something. He turns back around to Nadia a little irritated. "We got the job done! No harm, no foul!"

Nadia shakes her head. "He's right, we should have been more careful..." Tom quickly shakes his head and cuts her off. "Nadia, that's insane and you know it. You've been an agent for several years now, and you know as well as I do that you have to trust your instincts in the field and never second-guess yourself. You and Sydney made a judgment call based on those instincts. Decisions like that are best left to the people at the scene, not 1,000 miles away."

Nadia, a little defiantly, says "If it was your father, and if he was your boss and after the mission, he told you that you should have followed his lead, what would you have done?" Tom laughs at that comment. "My father was a drunk Vietnam veteran who abandoned me when I was still a baby, so if he was giving me orders like that today, if he were still alive, I'd probably punch him in the mouth. But even if it wasn't my own flesh and blood giving me orders and it was just my boss, I would have made a judgment call like you did in Monte Carlo and I would have stood my ground when I came home and faced the consequences."

Tom then reaches over and grabs Nadia's hand. "Nadia, those instincts of yours saved my life all those years ago. If we're going to be working together, I would feel much better in the field knowing that you still have those instincts. Don't ever second-guess yourself. You did the right thing in Monte Carlo."

All Nadia can do is look down at her desk, still somber. She doesn't say anything for a few seconds. Suddenly, she pulls her hand away from Tom and stands up. "I have to work on the final report with my sister."

Nadia then walks away, not sure what to think. As she walks away, Tom can tell in her expression and body language that she's torn up inside. Tom looks back at Sloane in his office, then back at Nadia. Tom then shakes his head in disgust. _"He better not have ruined her..."_ he thinks.

For a second time, he turns back to Sloane's office. Jack has left the office, and Sloane looks like he's writing something. That anger that started boiling up in Tom in the conference room with Sloane before the mission was returning. And this time, Tom can't control it.

Tom stands up quickly and marches angrily towards Sloane's office.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sloane's office<strong>_

Sloane is startled by the sound of Tom pushing the doors open quickly. Dismissing Tom's angry look, Sloane gets up and says "Good job in..."

But, before he can finish, Tom cuts him off. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sloane's neutral expression turns into an angry one. "What are you talking about?" Tom snaps back "What good do you think you're doing putting doubt in Nadia's mind? You, of all people, should know that you NEVER second-guess yourself in the field! But, all you did with your little scolding session with Nadia earlier was completely twist her mind into knots!"

Sloane lets those words sink in a bit before responding. "So, you think that Sydney and Nadia were justified in taking that great risk in Monte Carlo?" Tom leans forward. "They made a judgment call. As I just got done telling to Nadia, decisions like that are best made by the people at the scene, not 1,000 miles away. Quite frankly, I find it appalling that you have such little faith in your agents."

Sloane fires back quickly. "It's not that I don't have faith in their abilities. I thought what they did posed too much of a risk. If they had failed, how would you have felt now?" Tom shakes his head. "If you start thinking 'what if I fail' in the field, you might as well just accept the fact that you WILL fail. These aren't rookies that you're supervising, Sloane. They know how to do their job, and in this case they did it well. But yet, here you are, messing with their minds. That's not leadership."

Sloane gets an angry look on his face. He's growing impatient with this conversation already. "First of all, I don't need a lecture on leadership from you. Second, I didn't want to see Sydney or Nadia get hurt. If we couldn't get the info from the PDA this time, there's always another time. I cared about their well-being, so that's why I wanted them to abort."

Tom backs away from the desk, floored by that last sentence. With a very incredulous look on his face, he snaps back "If you cared so much about Nadia's well-being, how do you explain what you did to her when you whisked her away to Japan and injected her with shot after shot after shot of Rambaldi Fluid, you freaking hypocrite!"

Sloane looks at him defiantly. "Get out of my office, I have nothing else to say to you." Tom doesn't obey. He instead walks back to Sloane's desk and leans on it with a daring look on his face. "And what if I don't? Are you going to get Security Section on me and give me an early burial?"

Sloane, now visibly upset, says "No. As a matter of fact, I'm suspending you."

Tom quickly stands up straight. He can't believe what he just heard. "YOU'RE WHAT?" Sloane fires back "I won't tolerate insubordination on my team. I've had enough of your rancor towards me. I don't care if you don't like me, but you will respect me."

Tom shakes his head and starts pacing, still in disbelief. As he's pacing, Sloane says "You're suspended for two weeks, effective immediately. You're lucky it's not more."

Tom snaps and rushes to Sloane's desk. His look of disbelief has been replaced with a look of fury. "I just thought of something. I've been trying to figure out what historical leader I can compare you to. At first, I thought you were just too pathetic to even be mentioned along the lines of a great leader. But, I just figured out who you take after. Napoleon."

Sloane says nothing as Tom continues. "You're a little man like he was with this insatiable desire for power and respect. Like Napoleon, your tactics worked for a while. But like Napoleon, you got on your key soldiers' last nerves and a mutiny was led on you, shutting down SD-6 as we know it. And then, like Napoleon, you found yourself banished and out of the game for a while. But, hey, here we are!"

Tom then holds his arms out and turns and looks at the APO office. As he does that, Sloane picks up his phone and says "I need security to my office, please." This just spurs a now-fanatical Tom even more. "Sloane, this is your Hundred Days. You've escaped your exile, you're back in power, back in control. In control of the very people that mutinied against you. But you know what happened to Napoleon after his great return to glory?"

Tom pauses to give Sloane time to answer. Sloane remains unamused and unwilling to answer. Finally, two large men in suits enter Sloane's office. Tom looks at them, then back at Sloane with a maniacal smirk. "I'll leave, don't worry. But, you know what happened to Napoleon at the end of his Hundred Days? One giant colossal failure at Waterloo. After that, Napoleon was once again exiled and left to rot and die alone."

Tom then leans forward and gets within inches of Sloane's face. "Ask yourself while I'm away for two weeks: When is your Waterloo going to happen?"

Tom stares at Sloane for a few seconds before turning quickly and brushing by the large security guards.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO office<strong>_

Tom storms down the row of cubicles he's in. He's flanked by the security guards trying to keep up behind him. He has a look of sheer anger and defiance in his face.

Eventually, he comes up to Sydney's desk, where Sydney and Nadia are going over details of the mission. Nadia notices Tom coming with the guards coming behind him. Concerned, she asks "Tom, what happened?"

Tom stops at those words in front of Sydney's desk. His look of anger and defiance still plastered on his face, he tells Nadia rather tersely "That piece of shit you call a father just suspended me two weeks!"

Sydney jumps out of her seat. "What? What for?" Tom looks at Sydney, still angry. "Because I thought it was total bullshit that he would be angry with you two for a job well done, and I let him know about it!"

Sydney sinks back into her chair as Nadia says "Tom, why did you do..." Tom doesn't give her a chance to finish. "Because he's a megalomaniacal jackoff, that's why. You both are supremely talented agents and you..."

This time, Nadia cuts him off. "He's just looking out for us!" Tom gives her an incredulous look. After a few seconds of trying to process what Nadia just said, he says "You know, I don't get you. You want this...this pile of dogshit to love you like a normal father would. But he's not that man. He never WILL be that man! I thought you had more sense than to go chasing a damn unicorn! But apparently, I was wrong. Shame on me, I guess."

Tom storms off with the security guards in tow, leaving Nadia standing there, speechless. After a while, she sits down and has a look of despair on her face, hurt over Tom's outburst.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: At this point, Sydney and Nadia are sent out to Tambor's yacht in the Black Sea. The mission is a success, despite Nadia being torn up about what Tom told her earlier. After they return, Sydney is asked if she wants a transfer by Sloane, to which she replies "I'll see you tomorrow." We pick up after this exchange.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment<strong>_

It's nighttime as Sydney and Nadia pull up to their apartment. The first thing they notice as they get out of their car is Tom sitting on the porch step, looking down at his feet. He has a bouquet of lilies on his lap.

As Sydney and Nadia approach him, they see Tom lift his head up. He looks Nadia with a look of remorse on his face. All he can muster is a sheepish "Hey ladies".

Nadia doesn't say anything while Sydney simply says "Hey." Still feeling down, Tom asks "How was work?" Nadia still doesn't say anything. Sydney finally says "Good. We got the Black Thorine."

Tom chuckles and looks back down at his feet. "And what did Sloane think about your performance this time around?" Sydney smiles a bit. "Actually, he was happy. He was happy with that and the fact that I didn't transfer when I threatened to."

Tom looks up quickly after hearing that last part. "You threatened to walk out on him?" Sydney nods. "He nearly pushed me to the limit today, just like he did with you." Tom smiles. "At least you have more self-control than I do." Tom then realizes what he just said and turns to Nadia. His smile is quickly erased by that original look of remorse he had just a bit earlier. "Nadia, do you have a few minutes? We need to talk."

Nadia just nods her head, still not saying anything. Tom scoots over to let Sydney walk by. Before Sydney enters the apartment, she tells Tom to "take all the time you need."

Tom gives her a nod, then looks back up at Nadia, who looks like she's unsure what to think. Tom then slaps the step next to him. In a really solemn tone, he says "Have a seat. Please." Nadia thinks about it for a second, then slowly takes her seat next to Tom.

Tom gathers his thoughts for a second, then starts off. "The first thing I want to say to you is that I am so sorry for exploding at you earlier today. You didn't deserve that, and as I walked away, I knew immediately that I what I did was so wrong in so many ways. I just..."

Tom then closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Nadia, I'm not a perfect man. In the past, I've let my anger cloud my judgment and control the decisions I make in life, often at the peril of the people closest to me. And I let your father get under my skin and I ended up hurting not only myself, but I hurt the one person in this world that I would never, EVER, want to hurt."

Tom turns to Nadia as a tear rolls down his cheek. "Nadia, I'm so sorry I hurt you. Please, I beg you, please accept my forgiveness."

Tom stays quiet, waiting for Nadia to respond. She now has a look of sadness on her face too as she processes what Tom just said. After a few seconds, Nadia takes a deep breath. She then exhales and says "I'm not a naïve person, Tom. I remember you told me once that your grandparents raised you, and you had a brother and sister growing up. I never had that. I never had anything resembling a family growing up. And now, my father is back in my life, and so is my half-sister. For the first time in my life, I finally have a family. You said earlier that I'm chasing a unicorn. If you were alone all your life, and you discovered you do have a family after all, wouldn't that be worth chasing?"

Tom looks down a bit and thinks about that question for a while. He then nods his head and looks back up at Nadia, his eyes a little watery. "My mother died in a car accident not long after I was born, I'm estranged from my sister and my brother died when his plane hit the Pentagon in 9/11. If I were told today that they were actually alive, and with a little work, I could be with them again...I would do anything to make that happen."

Nadia then reaches over and grabs Tom's hand. "I know you would. And I know you're not perfect. Neither am I. I was such an angry person growing up myself, and there are still times where I can't control it either. It just gets to be too much. But, you came to APO because you wanted to be there for me when it just gets to be too much. You cared about me, and I'm so grateful for that. And as long as you're here for me, I'll be here for you. So yes, I accept your apology."

A smile forms on Tom's previously sullen face. "Thank you. Thank you so much." Tom then reaches over and gives Nadia a hug, which Nadia returns. As they're hugging, Tom tilts his head so he's talking in Nadia's ear. "I will always be there for you. No matter what. I love you so much."

The two release the hug and Nadia leans over and gives Tom a peck on the lips. With her trademark wide smile, she says "I love you too." After they stare into each others' eyes for a little while, Nadia asks "Do you want come inside?" Tom smiles and stands up. As Nadia stands up, Tom says "Yeah, I wanna know how you two did today!" Tom then reaches over and hands Nadia the lilies. "Almost forgot to give you these!"

Nadia smells them and smiles. "How did you know I like lilies?" Tom smiles, then thinks for a bit. _"How did I know?" _Tom thinks to himself. After a few seconds of mind-racking, Tom says "I'm not really sure, actually. Something inside me said you'd like them." Nadia smiles as Tom opens Sydney's apartment door to let her in. Tom follows her in to end the chapter.


	6. Ch 5: Strength and Honor

**STRENGTH AND HONOR**

_Timeperiod of chapter: Season 4, Episode 8_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment<strong>_

Sydney and Nadia are in the kitchen drinking coffee when they suddenly hear a knock on the door. They both look at the door, then each other. Nadia asks Sydney "Are you expecting anyone?" Sydney shakes her head. "No, are you?" Nadia shakes her head.

Sydney then sets down her coffee and walks to the door. She opens the door and finds a smiling Tom Falk standing on the porch. "Good morning!" he says. Sydney breathes a sigh of relief and smiles. "Good morning! Come on in!"

Tom steps in and Nadia sees who it is finally. She smiles as she gets up and walks over to him and gives him a rather strong kiss, surprising Tom a bit. Tom's eyes bug out as they release the kiss. "Wow! Is that how they say hello in Argentina?" Nadia laughs. "Sometimes...want some coffee?"

Tom shrugs a bit. "Sure, I came here for a quick pick-me up before I went to the airport, but after you about sucked my face off, I'm not so sure..." Nadia gives Tom a playful slap on the shoulder as Sydney walks back to the kitchen, looking at Tom a little curious. "Why are you going to the airport?"

As he's walking with Nadia back to the breakfast bar, he says "There's something I've been meaning to do since I left Baltimore to come to APO. Now that I have about a week and a half left on my surprise unwanted vacation, I can take care of that." The mention of his suspension that her father gave him makes Nadia sigh a bit, but she doesn't say anything. Sydney, meanwhile, shakes her head. "You know, I haven't been the nicest person around Sloane either. But instead, he suspends you. Don't you find that peculiar?"

Tom shakes his head as he sits at the bar with Nadia. "No, I earned my suspension. Plus, you've had a working relationship with him for years while I just got here. You've probably earned some leeway with him." Sydney casually nods as he pours Tom a cup of coffee. "True. Anyway, my dad wasn't happy at all that Sloane suspended you."

Tom raises his eyebrows a bit. "Oh really? I don't talk to him much, he always seems busy. Did Sloane tell him what happened or something?" Sydney shakes her head. "I don't know about that...he just thought Sloane went overboard in suspending you, especially since we need the manpower."

Tom shakes his head. "Syd, I did what I did, and I just have to accept the consequences. I could cry and moan and beg for my suspension to be lifted, but I'm not gonna bother. I won't give Sloane the satisfaction." Nadia, who's been noticeably silent throughout this exchange, finally speaks up. "Sydney, can I have a word with Tom alone, if you don't mind?" Sydney nods her head quickly. "No, go ahead. I have to start getting ready anyway." Sydney walks off into her bedroom.

Nadia starts to speak, but Tom cuts her off. "Nadia, I know what this is going to be about, and you're right. I have to bury the hatchet with your father. It's just...I can't get over what he did to you with the Rambaldi Fluid, on top of abandoning you all your life." Nadia sighs, expecting him to say that. "I've forgiven him for that. I know how you never forgave your father for what he did to you. But, I still believe that my father can be a good man, and if he can be all because of me, I have to give him that chance."

Tom sighs himself, expecting something like that too. "Nadia, I just don't see it. But, I realize that doesn't matter. What matters is that we're together, and I want to preserve that, no matter what other factors or external forces are in our lives. After my suspension is over, I'll have a chat with your father. I just have to let things cool down for a bit. My trip to Baltimore will help out with that."

Nadia nods her head and smiles. "Thank you for at least trying. And you're right. What's important is our love for each other. Let's not let anything get in the way of that." Tom smiles back. "Of course not."

Tom then leans over and gives Nadia a strong kiss to make up for the one earlier. Nadia's eyes bug out now as they release the kiss. "WHOA! That was..." Tom cuts her off, smiling. "Strong? We're even now!"

Nadia just shakes her head and laughs as she stands up. "I have to get ready for work myself. Be safe on your trip." Tom reaches up and lightly touches her face. "You too, beautiful." Nadia smiles and says "Ok...handsome!" The two then share a normal kiss this time before they go their separate ways.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Baltimore National Cemetery<strong>_

Tom pulls up in his rental car and parks his car on the side of the cemetery road behind another car. It's been snowing in Baltimore, as it's still the dead of winter and there's a few inches of snow on the ground. Tom, in a black sweater and jeans, looks out on the row of graves to the outside of his passenger window. He fears for what he has to do.

Just as the fear starts to set in, he gets a call on his cell phone. He reaches over to his hands-free device and picks up the phone. He sees Sydney's name on the caller ID. He answers the phone, but can't help but be a little worried. "Sydney, what's up?"

On the other end, we see Sydney sitting at a desk at APO. "Tom, I just wanted to let you know that Anna Espinosa kidnapped Nadia earlier today."

Tom just about jumps out of his seat. "WHAT? Where is she?" Sydney quickly replies "It's ok, we got her back. She's ok, she wasn't hurt." Tom breathes a sigh of relief, but goes back to being worried quickly. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Sydney looks down. "There was nothing you could do. Anna only wanted to deal with me in order to secure her release. I had to do a task for her."

Tom sighs. "Well, good thing is she's safe. Where's Anna?" Sydney replies "I had to let her go. It was part of the deal for getting Nadia back." Tom nods his head, then sighs again. "Dammit. Well, good thing you're ok too. Is Nadia around?" Sydney shakes her head. "No, she's still with the doctors getting checked out." As she says that, Jack walks up to her desk, needing something. Sydney tells Tom "Anyway, I gotta run. I just thought you should know."

Tom says "Thanks a lot. Tell Nadia to give me a call later." Sydney smiles. "Of course. Later." Sydney hangs up the phone.

Tom hangs up his phone and tosses it to the passengers seat. He leans back and looks up and exhales loudly. "I go away for a few hours and look what happens..."

He turns to the right back down the row of graves, and a crestfallen look on his face returns as he remembers why he's here in the first place.

He exits the car and walks back to the rear driver's door and opens it. He leans in and pulls out 6 bouquets of flowers. Tom then closes the door and starts walking down the row of graves.

He's walking slowly as he looks to the right to view the names on each grave. Grave after grave walks by until he finally reaches the grave with the name "Jerome Thompson", where he suddenly stops.

Tom looks further down the row of graves and sees more names he recognizes. Jacob Jackson. Charlie O'Doyle. Luke Winter. Eddie Alvarez. Chris Cooper. All of the graves have different birthdates, but all of the graves have the same date of death: June 6, 2003.

Tom sighs as he grabs a bouquet and lays it down on Jerome's grave. He does the same for Jacob, then Charlie, then Luke, then Eddie, and then Chris.

After he sets Chris's bouquet down, he walks over to a bench and sits on it, facing towards the 6 graves. With a sheepish smile, he says "How's it going, brothers? It's been a little while since I stopped by and said hi."

Tom's voice starts to crack a bit as he reaches the end of that last sentence. Tears start to form in his eyes, but Tom quickly wipes them away before they can tumble down his face. "I swore I wasn't gonna cry!"

But, he can't help it. After all, he's reminded of why these men are in their graves today...

* * *

><p><em>Note: The following is an excerpt from my prequel to this story, Eye of the Storm. Again, I just want to re-iterate that reading the prequel is simply an option only. There's benefits for reading it or not reading it, but it's far from a requirement.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Flashback: On the third floor, we see Tom perched behind a door. He gets on his coms. "David, is there still a heat signature on the other side of this door?" David (Note: if you need a visual reference, think a more passive Justin Long) says "Yes, he's stationary in the middle of the room." Tom nods as he flings the door open to find a VERY large room with nothing except stone pillars about three stories tall and a man sitting in a chair with his hands behind the chair and his mouth covered with a white cloth. Tom gets back on his coms. "Uh, David? This place was supposed to have five floors, right?" David grabs a blueprint. "Yeah, why?" Toms says "Something about this stinks. The room I just walked into has to be at least three stories tall...and I don't think there's any floors above this." David scrambles for a bit, looking at his computer systems. "Uh, I don't know what to say...is there anyone else in there?" Tom looks at the doctor. "No, just Doctor Kozlov. He's sitting right out here in the middle...I don't like this." Tom starts to walk away, then shakes his head. "Wait, I'm overthinking this." Tom looks out across the room for traps. He doesn't see any. Tom smiles. "Well, I guess some missions were just meant to be easy, I guess." Tom sets his gun down and starts running across the room. <em>

_Tom notices the doctor looking panicked as Tom gets closer. Tom grins and says "You're coming with...WHOA!" Tom is cut off when he trips over a clear line of wire that he did not see earlier. As he hits the ground, he hears a loud__** "BEEP!"**__ and then__feels the ground underneath him rumble violently. And then..._

_**BOOM!**_

_Tom hears the explosion off to his right. As he looks over that way, he hears another __**BOOM! **__Another explosion goes off ahead of him, taking the cloned doctor with him. Tom hears the screams of his teammates in his earpiece...followed by static. Still on the ground, Tom starts to crawl forward a bit, but looks up and starts to see the roof start to fall. Tom, seeing there's little he can do now, puts his left hand behind his head. Tom closes his eyes...then opens them really quickly and screams in piercing pain as..._

* * *

><p>He can't go any further. Every time he thinks about that day, his right hand starts to hurt. He starts rubbing his right hand with his left, at the point where the scar runs down the side.<p>

All of the sudden, Tom is distracted by the sound of crunching snow behind him. Tom turns quickly and sees a man wearing a Navy peacoat and black khakis. The man is about average height with brown hair and a nicely-trimmed brown beard. Tom recognizes him immediately. "Mike!"

Mike smiles as Tom gets up and walks over to him. The two give each other a pound hug. As they're hugging, Mike says "I had no idea you were in town! When did you get in?"

Tom releases the hug. "This morning! Believe it or not, I got suspended already!" Mike laughs. "Oh, I believe it!" Now, it's Tom's turn to be inquisitive. "What are YOU doing here?"

Mike lowers his head. "I was just visiting another one of our former colleagues." Tom gets a solemn look on his face. "Who?" Mike blankly says "Vandenburg."

Tom's jaw drops. "Our director from Dark Cover is dead? How?" Mike shakes his head slowly. "He killed himself. Took a gun and just blew his own head off." Tom winces and blows out, sickened by that thought. "Jesus...why? He wasn't a depressive guy, in fact, it was almost creepy how positive he was all the time!"

Mike sighs and says "Well, you remember how he left Dark Cover to take his dad's seat in the U.S. Senate for the rest of his term after he died, right?" Tom nods. Mike continues. "And you know how he lost the re-election campaign, which helped close up Dark Cover for good, right?" Tom says "Yeah?"

Mike looks down. "Well, he took it hard. Apparently, he felt that he dishonored his father by not keeping that seat in the bloodlines. He just about completely fell off the face of the earth, kept himself indoors and didn't talk to anyone but James Lennox. Apparently, Lennox was the one that discovered him." Tom looks down and shakes his head. "When was the funeral?" Mike says "Last week."

Tom nods his head, but doesn't say anything. After some awkward silence, Tom asks "You wanna grab a few drinks at our old hangout? We haven't chatted since I joined APO." Mike cracks a small smile. "Yeah, I haven't been to the Terrapin Tavern in a while. Let's do it."

Tom smiles and turns around and looks back at the graves of his fallen teammates. He turns back to Mike with the solemn look he had before. "I still miss them. But, I've been finding their loss is easier to deal with lately." Mike looks at their graves for a bit, then back at Tom. "That's good to hear, I know it ate you up for the longest time. It did for me too, because I wasn't there. But, time heals all wounds."

Tom nods and smiles. "That, and the woman of your dreams at your side." Mike chuckles a bit. "Oh really? I gotta hear more about this! Let's go." Tom quickly replies "David in town? He should join us." Mike thinks for a bit, then nods. "Yeah, he should be in town still. Let's pay him a visit!"

Tom nods and turns towards his fallen teammates' graves once more. Forcing a smile on his face, he says "I've never forgotten our motto, guys. Strength and honor...always."

Mike gives Tom a pat on the back as they head towards their cars.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Suburban Baltimore<strong>_

Tom and Mike pull up on the street and park their respective cars in front of your average, typical subdivision home. The sun is starting to set off the west as they get out of their cars and walk up the steps leading to the front door.

Tom rings the doorbell to the right of the door, then looks over at Mike. "He better not be taking a nap. I've never met a man that likes to sleep as much as he does." Mike laughs as the door opens and we see David, looking rather groggy.

Then, as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes, he beams. "Tom! What are you doing here?" Tom and David give each other a pound hug. As they're still hugging, Tom says "I got a bit of an unwanted break from my new division, so I thought I'd say hey."

David releases the hug. "What, did they suspend you?" Mike starts busting out laughing. Tom gives him a bit of a look, then starts laughing too. Tom looks back over at David, still laughing a bit. "How'd you guess?"

David shrugs a bit. "Because the CIA doesn't fire people, at least not this early in your tenure anyway!" Tom looks a little surprised at that comment. "Damn, this time four years ago, you were just trying to avoid getting arrested and thrown in the clink for 20 years. Now, you're an expert on all things CIA!" Tom quickly looks over at a still-chuckling Mike. "What have you been teaching him, Mike?"

Mike quickly replies "Me? This guy's mind is like a damn supercomputer. He teaches himself!" David nods. "Yeah, that's true. Now, I'm certified to handle explosives in the field!"

Tom puts his hands on his hips and still has a look of disbelief on his face. "Man, you go from helpless computer nerd to the damn Unibomber!" Mike smiles and nods. "You're actually not that far off. He blew up a building couple weeks ago."

Tom raises his eyebrows and turns back to David, who just sheepishly shrugs. "It wasn't a big deal, easy job. Anyway, you wanna come in?" Tom shakes his head. "No, you're coming with us to the Terrapin Tavern for drinks!"

David looks over at Mike, who just slowly gives him a cocky head nod. David then looks down and nods his head. "Ok, let me change my clothes." David then turns and goes back up the steps inside his house.

Tom then looks back over at Mike, still in a bit of disbelief. "I think I created a monster."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Terrapin Tavern<strong>_

We catch up with Tom, Mike, and David sitting at a corner booth in a rather average-looking tavern. The tavern seems to be relatively busy tonight.

Tom lifts up his bottle of beer for a toast. Mike and David respond by lifting theirs up as well. Tom, with a smile, says "To good friends and new ventures. Strength and honor." Mike and David each say "strength and honor" themselves as the three touch glasses.

Tom laughs a bit as he sets his beer down. "Man, you know how many nights we sat here sharing drinks over the years? I didn't expect to be back so quickly!" Mike laughs. "Sounds to me like your Anti-Cartel temper might have returned!"

Tom slowly nods. "You have no idea, Mike, the absolute jackass I have for a boss. But, before we get to that, while we're on the subject of bosses, why didn't one of you call me about the Vandenburg funeral?" David says "I tried to, but it went to voicemail. You had a message on there saying you were out of the country."

Tom looks up and nods. "Yeah, that's right. I was in Monte Carlo. In fact, that's the reason I was suspended." Mike leans forward. "Something tells me this story is going to be interesting."

Tom shrugs. "Only if you like stories where I completely got torqued off at my boss." Mike nods. "Yup, I love these stories!" Tom laughs, then says "Well, I can't tell you the story without telling you about the dream woman at my side."

This time, David leans forward. "Are you dating a supermodel or something?" Tom looks over and shakes his head. "No, even better." Tom then looks over at Mike. "You remember Nadia Santos from the Conquistadores mission?"

Mike's jaw drops. "No way..." Tom nods. "Yeah, we're together! She works at APO. In fact, she's the reason I joined, because I found out she was there. I couldn't believe it!" Mike asks "I thought she was still Argentine Intelligence? How did she end up there?"

Tom looks down at the table. "Her dad is my director. He recruited her." Mike goes back to sitting back in his seat. "Wow, after all these years, you finally hook up with Nadia...I knew it was bound to happen someday." Tom sighs and looks back up. "Yeah, but you know I was married..." Mike cuts Tom off. "If I knew that Kate was going to emasculate you like she did when you two broke up, I would have told you to dump her ass!"

Tom shrugs and looks back up at Mike. "Well, what's done is done. Anyway, me and Nadia are crazy about each other. Unfortunately, her dad is the definition of a monster, and I'm not going to explain why I hate that man with a passion, but let's just say that he's gone beyond mistreating her all her life."

Mike gives an understanding nod, but doesn't say anything. David, who's been listening intently, asks "So, how did you get suspended?" Tom looks over at David. "Well, I was out in support, and Nadia and her half-sister Sydney pulled off a miracle in Monte Carlo. It was amazing to see them at work. But, Nadia's dad didn't like the means that they used to complete their mission, and berated them for it. I snapped."

A smiling Mike says "Tom Falk, always jumping on the grenade for his team members with management." Tom nods as he takes a drink of his beer. "This time it was justified. He had Nadia's head completely scrambled. Anyway, he took umbrage when I went off on him and suspended me two weeks. I have about a week and a half left."

Mike takes a drink, then looks a little confused. "So, you decided to come out here?" Tom nods and sighs. "Yeah, I wanted to see my old friends again...living and dead."

Mike quickly replies "Do they know about your..." Tom cuts him off. "No, and it stays that way. I don't want my condition to define who I am. And if they know about that, then they'll know what happened to our friends." Mike goes to say something, but David cuts him off. "Tom, I'm sure they'll understand. Mitch betrayed us and the whole thing was a setup! If they placed the blame on you, don't you think they would have kicked you out of the CIA...or worse?"

Tom digests that comment a bit. He takes a drink, sets it down, looks over at David and grins. "You're right. You're absolutely right. Good way of looking at it." Tom looks back over at Mike. "Anyway, enough of me. I want to know about this building that David blew up!"

Mike laughs as David gets a cocky grin, a rare thing from him. David says "Well, some of the mission details the CIA wants to keep a secret, but let's just say that me and Mike were sent to Bulgaria to track down these...items that the CIA wanted removed." Tom looks suspicious. "Items? Hopefully you don't mean people." Mike shakes his head. "No, this wasn't another Actopan Incident. No one got fried." Tom rolls his eyes. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me about that debacle..."

David, a little impatient, cuts them both off. "Can I continue?" Tom looks over at David and nods his head. "Please!" David continues. "Anyway, the CIA tasked us because they thought this would be a good test of my recently-acquired explosives skills. The place was empty, except for these items. The building had a couple of weak points, so I placed explosives on those points, and..."

Mike cuts him off with grin. "Tom, you should have seen the explosion!" David looks at Mike a little irritated. "QUIT CUTTING ME OFF, DAMMIT!" Mike laughs and eventually, so does David. David continues. "As Mike just...conveniently alluded to...yes, apparently I used a little more explosive than I needed."

Tom looks like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Wait, you caused the Gabovro explosion a couple weeks ago? That was all over the news!" David looks at Mike suspiciously, then back at Tom. "Yeah, that was me." Tom laughs and claps his hands. "They say you blew up a factory that made stuffed animals. I thought 'Why would someone want to blow up a bunch of teddy bears?' Good to see I was right to be a little suspicious!"

David grins. "Anyway, I'll never forget it. That was about as much fun I've had since you recruited me into Dark Cover, Tom." Tom pats David on the shoulder. "Good to see that my faith in you continues to be rewarded. If there was one good thing about my life that I could tell people about, it's you." David just shakes his head. "Don't be ridiculous..." Tom gets a serious look on his face. "I'm dead serious. Not only did you get to raise your son instead of rotting in a jail cell, you're now married and now have another child, my god-daughter. Oh, and you've become an absolute freelancing machine! I'm glad for you."

Mike lifts up his bottle. "To David Marston, aka 'The Machine'!" Tom lifts up his glass. "Here here!" Mike and Tom keep their bottles aloft, awaiting for a shy David to respond in kind. After a few seconds, David finally rolls his eyes and touches his bottle to theirs.

Tom finishes off his beer and sets it down. He looks at Mike and David's bottles. "Another round?" Both Mike and David nod their heads. Tom smiles and gets up and heads to the bar.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside the Terrapin Tavern<strong>_

The three former members of Dark Cover's tactical team are seen walking to their cars in the parking lot of the Terrapin Tavern, joking about something. It's now much later in the night.

Mike asks Tom "So, where are you staying?" Tom shrugs. "I dunno, I was probably going to stay at the Hilton downtown." David shakes his head. "Nah, you can crash at my place! Suzie would like to see her godfather!"

Tom looks at David and nods his head. "Very well, your place it is..." Tom is cut off by the sound of his cell phone going off. He pulls it out of his pocket and sees on the caller ID that it's Sydney.

Tom stops walking to answer the phone. Mike and David stop too. On the phone, Tom asks "Sydney, is everything ok?"

On the other end, an exasperated Sydney says "Tom! I'm on a plane heading back to LA from Johannesburg. Anna shot Nadia."

Back in Baltimore, Tom's jaw drops open and he gets a look of sheer terror in his face. "Sydney, is she alive?" Sydney says "Yes, but she's not doing well! We were trying to find..."

An exasperated Tom cuts her off. "You can tell me in Los Angeles, I'm on the next plane back!" Tom quickly hangs up the phone and looks over at Mike and David. Mike asks "What's wrong?"

Tom, with his mouth quivering, says "I have to go back to Los Angeles. Nadia's been shot. And she's not doing good."

* * *

><p><em>Author note: I realize this story has started off a little slow, but if you've been waiting for the action to pick up a bit, your patience is about to be rewarded. Stay tuned!<em>


	7. Ch 6: Good and Evil

**GOOD AND EVIL**

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 9_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside Nadia's hospital room<strong>_

Just like in the series, we pick up with Sloane rushing through the hospital doors. As he approaches Nadia's hospital room, we see Sydney and Tom looking in, both with worried looks on their faces.

Tom looks on at Nadia laid out on the hospital bed as Sloane stands next to Sydney. Sydney notices and says "They got the bullet out in Estonia. She's stabilized, but the internal bleeding was severe."

Sydney continues to explain Nadia's condition to Sloane as Tom does not break his gaze. Eventually, Sloane notices Tom standing there. "What are you doing here?" Tom turns to Sloane angrily, but before he can snap back at Sloane, Sydney cuts him off. "He has every right to be here!"

Tom looks over at Sydney a bit surprised as she says that, then back over at Sloane, awaiting his reaction. Sloane eventually gives an understanding head-nod. "I guess you do. Thanks for coming back from Baltimore. I understand you had personal business there." Tom nods, but still has a terse look on his face. "I got my business taken care of before Sydney called me. Even if I hadn't, I still would have come back. I'm sorry, Sloane, but I love your daughter."

Sloane digests that last part for a bit and goes to say something, but is interrupted by the phone call that alerts him that Julian Sark has just arrived at APO. Sloane walks off to return to APO.

Tom watches him walk away, then turns back to Sydney. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there." Sydney gives him a faint smile. "No problem. I know you'd do the same for me."

Tom turns and goes back to watching Nadia intently. As he's watching, he asks Sydney "Could I trouble you for another favor?" Sydney asks "What is it?" Tom, still looking at Nadia, says "From what you told me about what happened, I'm concerned that Anna, or someone else, could come here and try to finish the job. If you could hang out here for a bit, I want to go home and grab a couple things and come back. I'll stand watch over Nadia."

Sydney shakes her head. "That won't be necessary, this hospital is..." Tom turns and cuts her off. "Sydney, I swore an oath to protect her, and I will always stand by that oath. I can be here as long as it takes for her to get better."

Sydney, a little dismayed, says "It could be two days before she's awake. We'll set up shifts..." Tom shakes his head slowly and intently. "No. You have a job to do. Meanwhile, I'm still suspended. I'll stay here and protect her. If something changes in her condition or if something...else happens, you'll be the first to know."

After a few seconds, Sydney sighs and nods, realizing Tom wasn't going to budge. Tom says "Thanks" and gives her a small smile before walking off.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside Nadia's hospital room, 24 hours later<strong>_

We catch back up with Nadia, still in her medically induced coma. As we pan out of the room, we see Tom seated in a chair just outside the door. He sets down a book, Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises", on the ground, next to a medium-sized cooler. Next to the cooler, he grabs a large coffee travel mug, gets up, and walks into Nadia's hospital room.

In the room he walks over to a table in the corner, where he has set up a coffee maker. Tom grabs a pot full of coffee and starts pouring. He's got a somewhat fatigued look on his face as he pours coffee into his mug. He finishes and turns around and looks at Nadia.

For the first time since he arrived almost 24 hours ago, he smiles. "Looks like you're getting your color back! That's good, because pale is not a good look for you, babe." Tom glances over at her heart monitor and looks satisfied. "Looks like you're gonna be ok, after all."

Tom walks back out the room and sits down in his chair. Tom takes a sip of his coffee, realizes it's still too hot, then sets it down on a small table to the right of his chair. After he sets down his coffee, he reaches back to his left and opens the cooler up and pulls out a red delicious apple. As he pulls out the apple, he scratches his face a bit, as he's got a full-blown 5 o'clock shadow now.

After he scratches his face and sits up, he reaches into his right pants pocket and pulls out an old, haggard-looking pocket knife with a strange symbol on the handle near the blade. Tom opens up the knife and lightly runs his thumb along the edge, checking to see if it needs to be sharpened.

Satisfied, he cuts off a thin slice of apple and lifts it to his mouth on the knife. As he's chewing on his apple, he notices Sydney getting off the elevator off to the right. Smiling and still chewing, he says "Good evening!"

Sydney walks over to Tom and smiles. "Hey...how's she doing?" Tom smiles back after swallowing his slice of apple. "I was going to give you a call here in a bit, I just checked on her. I think she's going to be ok. She's got her color back, and her vitals have really improved."

Sydney lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I was really worried about her." Tom shakes his head casually as he cuts off another piece of apple. "I wasn't. Nadia's got a toughness about her that I only wish I had. I knew she'd pull through. Still, she's still in danger from Anna and the rest of those Cadmus bastards. And that's what worries me."

Sydney nods, but doesn't say anything as she looks in at Nadia. Tom eats a piece of apple, then looks back over at Sydney. "You can have a seat if you like. It'll be nice to have company." Sydney casually walks over to a chair to the right of Tom and his little table.

As she sits down, she looks at Tom and notices he's got bags under his eyes. She immediately says "You look tired." Tom dismissively shakes his head. "Nah, I have plenty of coffee and apples to keep me going. Plus, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to Nadia and I could have prevented it."

Tom reaches down in his cooler and grabs and apple. He then leans back up and extends the apple to Sydney. "Hungry?" Sydney smiles and shakes her head. "No thanks, I ate before I got here." Tom nods and puts the apple back in the cooler, then goes back to knifing slices of apple.

Sydney takes notice of something on Tom's knife. "That symbol that's just below the blade on the handle...what is that?" Tom eats a piece of apple and looks at the symbol, then smirks. After he finishes chewing, he says "That is the Mayan symbol for a bat. The man I killed to get this knife was big into Mayan history and culture."

Sydney raises an eyebrow a bit. "Who did you kill?" Tom chuckles. "Ah, this was my very first kill in the Anti-Cartel! It was 1992, and we were trying to track down a mid-level drug trafficker named Nicandro Sagredo the Third. Well, we finally track him down in the forest outside of Las Choapas, along that little strip of land that separates the Yucatan Peninsula with the rest of Mexico. I'll never forget what happened when we finally cornered him."

Tom chuckles again and pauses to take another bite of apple. Sydney, interested in the story, asks "What happened when you tracked him down?" Tom finishes chewing and smiles. "Well, we had him backed up to this large stone boulder, that overlooked a creek in the middle of the forest. I remember it wasn't particularly hot that day, but still a little humid since we were deep in the forest and it was hard to catch a breeze. Anyway, we wanted to take him in alive and see if he'd give up his whole operation. But, he had other ideas. He decided he'd rather die than get captured and decided he would take a few of us with him to hell. I knew it the moment he pulled out his pistol that he had tucked into the back of his jeans. I already had my gun pointed at him and I quickly aimed and fired. I nailed him directly in the right eyeball from about 30 feet before he could get a shot off."

Sydney opens her eyes wide. "Wow, that was a good shot!" Tom nods and smiles. "I know. My buddy Mike, who had just joined our team recently, called it a money shot. Anyway, I went and frisked the guy for anything he could provide us and I found this knife. I decided to keep it as a memento of my first kill in the field."

Sydney looks back at the knife. "So, what does the bat stand for something? I'll admit, I'm not well-versed in Mayan culture!" Tom laughs. "Nah, it's ok. See, the Mayans didn't believe in 'good' and 'evil' like we do. They viewed good and evil as a totality, rather than as separate entities. The bat was the Mayan symbol for that balance between good and evil. To the Mayans, the bat came to symbolize protection against dark forces. Even though it could be construed as an evil being itself, it was still liked and respected by the people it protected." Tom then looks down and his confident look goes away. "The Mayan bat came to embody how I went about business in the Anti-Cartel. Sydney, I did some wretched things there, things that I deeply regret now. But, I did all of that because I thought I was doing it for a good cause. So, I justified my actions. But, I still live with the regret over the lives I destroyed, and how I went about destroying them."

Sydney cracks a small, reassuring smile. "I can tell, just in your devotion to Nadia, that you're not an evil person. That man you just told me about...I don't think you're him anymore." Tom raises an eyebrow. "Not even when I went all Krakatoa on Sloane a couple days ago?" Sydney laughs. "Come on! You just did something I've wanted to do for the past decade!"

Tom laughs, and so does Sydney. After she finishes laughing, she says "That looks like a really old knife." Tom nods as he finishes off his apple. "I had a Mexican antique guy take a look at it. He believes that this knife was a family heirloom that was passed down generation to generation, beginning with the first Nicandro Sagredo, and going down to his son Nicandro Junior, and then to Nicandro the Third. In fact..."

Tom flips over the knife and points to the bottom of the blade. "...somewhere along the way, a Nicandro Sagredo put his initials 'N.S.' on the back of the blade. Of course, nowadays, those initials have a whole new meaning for me." Tom smirks as he turns back and looks at Nadia, still lying there in the hospital bed.

As he's looking at Nadia, Sloane exits the elevator to the right. Tom turns back around and notices Sloane right away. Tom and Sloane eye each other down, as usual, only this time it's more of a curious exchange rather than a hostile one.

As Sloane approaches Tom and Sydney, he asks to either one of them "How is Nadia doing?" Tom says "A lot better. She's got her color back and her vitals are improved. Your daughter is going to make it."

Sloane nods and, for the first time in a long time, tosses a smile in Tom's direction. "That's good to hear. I appreciate you looking out for her." Tom sighs as he tosses his apple core across the door to Nadia's room into a wastebasket. "Well, we both know why I have ample time to look after her..." Tom pauses for a bit, then turns to Sloane with a sincere look on his face. "...and I share a good chunk of that blame."

Sydney looks a little surprised that Tom appears to be conceding a bit. Sloane just stands there, not giving any hints on how he feels about what Tom just said. After a little while, Tom breaks the silence. "Maybe while you're here, Sloane, we can clear the air between us. Our feud is not healthy for APO and it sure as hell isn't healthy for Nadia." Sloane nods approvingly. "I agree, on both counts."

Just as he says that, the alarm goes off. Over the intercom, everyone is informed that there's been a fire in the sub-basement. The alarm causes all medical staff to exit the floor.

Immediately, Tom smells a rat. He springs up out of his seat and pulls out his Desert Eagle .50. Sydney does the same and pulls out her gun as well. She tells Sloane "Stay here with Nadia, we'll look for her." Sloane looks at Tom, knowing he's still suspended, but decides that his daughter's safety is more important, and just gives Tom a head-nod.

Sydney runs off down a hallway on the far-side of the nurse's station and enters the stairwell. Meanwhile, Tom goes down the near-side hallway with the elevator and enters a different stairwell. He starts marching downstairs, towards the sub-basement. He gets about two floors down when he hears the gunshots from Anna shooting at Nadia...well, what she thinks is Nadia anyway.

Tom doesn't know that she just shot a bunch of bloodbags and fears the worst. Immediately, he charges back up the stairs. By the time he's gotten up the stairs, Anna has already grabbed a firehose and shot out the hallway window. Tom points his gun at her, but is unable to get off a shot before she jumps out the window.

Seeing how much hose she's using to escape, Tom makes a break for the stairwell he just came in. He charges down the stairs with everything he has, finally making it to the ground floor.

He charges out of the exit and towards the parking lot. Well off in the distance, he sees Anna running towards a black car.

Still sprinting with every ounce of energy he can spare, he reaches the edge of the parking lot as Anna gets into her car and starts pulling out of her parking spot. Tom fires a few shots at the car, hitting the car twice, but unable to stop Anna as she drives away. As Anna drives off, Tom memorizes the license plate number. "9-A-D-A-2-1-4...remember that, Tom."

Tom looks around and thinks about hotwiring a car and giving chase, but realizes that would be futile because it'd take too much time to hotwire. He also thinks about getting in his own car, but it's parked on the other side of the hospital. Finally, he pulls out his cell phone with another idea. He punches in a number and presses the phone to his ear.

On the other line, we see David, Tom's friend from Dark Cover, in a computer room pick up his cell phone. "Tom? Hey, how's..." Tom shakes his head. "We don't have time for chit-chat! PLEASE, on everything that is holy and sacred in this world, tell me you're at a computer!"

David turns back to his computer quickly. "Yes...yes I am! What do you need?" Tom quickly replies "I need you to look up a license plate!"

David opens up a window. "I'm home and I can access the license plate database from here. What's the numbers?" Tom, who's exasperated from giving chase as well as thinking that Nadia could be dead, says "California plates 9-Alpha-Delta-Alpha-2-1-4. A woman named Anna Espinosa is driving it!"

David furiously punches those numbers into the computer. "Hang on Tom, I'm keying those numbers in..." Tom hunches over, finally realizing he needs to catch his breath from the sprint. As he does that, he sees Sydney running towards him from the exit.

He goes to say something to her, but then David cuts him off. "I got it! The name on that plate belongs to an Amanda Jones...wow, this is a fake if I've ever seen one." Tom, back to standing up straight, holds the phone away from his ear and lets out a loud "DAMMIT!"

David says "No! I got the VIN number...let me run that and see if I can find anything..." As he does that, Sydney finally catches up to Tom. "Did she get away?" Tom nods his head and now looks like he's about to cry. "Nadia...I failed her..."

Before Sydney can respond, David chimes in again. "Tom! She's driving a 2004 Audi, and her car has OnStar! I can hack into the OnStar GPS and track where she's going!" Tom, now with a hopeful look on his face, says "Do it! Let me know where she ends up, you have this number?" David says "Yeah! I'll give you a call."

Tom hangs up the phone. Sydney asks "What was that about?" Tom says "My op-tech from Dark Cover is tracking Anna's car through the OnStar system that's in it. We'll figure out where she's going." Sydney nods, then puts her hand on Tom's shoulder. Tom looks down at the hand, then closes his eyes, once again fearing the worst.

Instead, he gets verbal relief from Sydney, who tells him "Anna did not kill Nadia. She shot at some bloodbags that Sloane had set up as a dummy. Sloane had Nadia moved to the sickbay, she's fine." Tom opens his eyes quickly and starts pacing. With a look of relief on his face, he exhales suddenly and laughs. "Oh thank goodness! I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for Sloane!"

Sydney laughs. "Hey, let's not get carried away!" Tom nods, realizing what he just said to who he said it to. "I know, I know. But this debunks a suspicion I had of him. Come on, let's go inside."

Tom and Sydney walk back towards the exit they ran out of together.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside of the sickbay<strong>_

Back in the hospital, Sloane is at Nadia's side when he sees Tom and Sydney walk back in together. He has a look of disappointment on his face. "I take it Anna escaped." Tom nods. "Yeah, she was too fast for me. But, I'm working on getting her location."

Sloane looks a bit surprised. "How could you be doing that if she's long gone?" Tom says "My former op-tech at Dark Cover is now a freelance agent. He hacked her OnStar GPS system and is tracking her as we speak."

Just as Tom says that, his phone rings. Tom looks at the phone and sees David's name on the caller ID. "This is him, Sloane. I have to take this." Tom walks out of the sickbay and answers the phone. "David, please tell me you have something!"

On the other line, David says "Well, her car is stopped at the main terminal at LAX." Tom says "So, she's flying her ass out of dodge...dammit." David quickly responds "It's ok! I can search the flight manifests for flights going out until 6 AM and see if she's on a commercial plane."

Tom turns back to Sloane and Sydney, then looks away again, with an idea going off in his head. "Get me those manifests, email them to my work account, you have that address. And David? I'm going to need you to find manifests for private flights, too. I know you can do that, and I know it's a bit risky, but if you need me to do you a favor..."

David cuts Tom off. "Tom, you've done enough for me to earn you a lifetime of favors. Consider it done." Tom grins. "Thank you...thank you so much." David asks "So, how is Nadia?" Tom says "She's fine. Someone tried to kill her while she was laid out in the hospital..."

Tom turns back to Sloane. "...but, one of our agents was able to get her out of harms way. He saved her life. She's going to be fine." David smiles. "Good. I'll get you those manifests ASAP."

Tom hangs up the phone and walks back to the sickbay. Looking at Sloane, he says "I have some good news and bad news." Sloane immediately fires "What's the bad news?"

Tom says "Anna went to Los Angeles International Airport. She's getting out of town, and probably in a hurry." Sydney asks "So, what's the good news?" Tom looks over at her and smirks. "My friend is going to get me the public and private manifests of every single flight out of LAX from now until 6 AM. He's going to be sending them to my work email."

Sydney smiles. "Good, we'll find her, even if she's using an alias. I'll see about getting security footage from LAX, too." Sloane, meanwhile, seems less jovial as he glares at Sydney. "Could you excuse us, Sydney? I need a word with my daughter's boyfriend for a minute." Sydney nods and walks out of the sickbay.

Now, it's just Tom and Sloane (and a comatose Nadia)...alone for the first time since Tom blew up in Sloane's office a few days ago.

Tom walks over and stands by Nadia's bedside, leaving Sloane standing by the doorway. Tom looks at Nadia for a bit, then back over at Sloane. "I want to thank you for putting her out of harms way." Sloane replies "No thanks necessary. I did what I had to do to protect my daughter."

Tom nods, then looks down. "Doing what you did tonight, going out of your way to protect Nadia...it made me realize something." Sloane patiently awaits the answer as Tom looks back up with a serious, yet sincere look on his face. "I was wrong about you. You do care about Nadia."

Sloane, with a serious look on his face, says "I understand your reasons for doubting my love for my daughter. For a man coming up from your upbringing, a man who's father abandoned him, your reasons for hating me were justified. But like I've told Nadia now countless times, and now to you, I want to be a father to her. A father that I never was. Whether you want to believe it or not, we both have the same vested interest in Nadia's well-being."

Tom nods his head. "I believe it now. But, we also have a vested interest in Nadia's psyche as well. Our rift is tearing her apart. We're the two men in her life, and she wants nothing more than to see us get along, at least on a basic, working level. I can start by not being a total dick to you. I also accept my part of the blame for my suspension."

Sloane thinks for a bit, then nods his head in agreement. "You know, my decision to suspend you was not well-received among the staff. They seem to think that APO is much better off with you working in the office than not. I've never been a democratic leader, but in this instance, I see their point. Plus, your work in hunting down Anna's whereabouts tonight, along with staying all this time to protect Nadia, has shown me that you are indeed an asset."

Tom nods. "I appreciate the kind words. I think it's time we bury the hatchet, at least on a working level. You're still going to carry a cloud of suspicion with you, but I'm willing to work with you..." In a stunning move, Tom extends his hand for a handshake. "...for Nadia."

Sloane looks a bit surprised at Tom's gesture at first. But eventually, he nods and shakes Tom's hand. Meanwhile, Sydney and a recently-arrived Jack Bristow watch the exchange from outside the sickbay, not really believing what they're seeing either.

Back in the sickbay, the two release the handshake. Tom says "I'll run to APO and work with Sydney on those manifests, then I'll come back here and continue to keep watch on Nadia." Sloane shakes his head. "No. You've been up since you left for Baltimore nearly two days ago. Get Sydney the manifests, then go home and get some rest. I'll see you at work Monday."

Tom's eyebrows shoot up. "You're lifting my suspension?" Sloane quickly replies "I'm cutting it to a week." Sloane then cracks a wide smile. "For Nadia, right?"

Tom gives Sloane a sort of suspicious smile, then nods his head. He then turns over to Nadia. He leans over and strokes her hair back behind her left ear. "I'll stop by tomorrow. Your dad will take care of you in the meantime." Tom then leans over and gives her a kiss on the forehead as Sloane watches on.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Back outside the sickbay<strong>_

Sloane and Tom walk out together to find a suspicious Sydney and Jack wondering what's going on. Before either of them can ask, Tom tells Sydney "We need to get to work so I can print off those manifests that David is emailing me. I'll stay up and work with you on matching Anna's alias if you need."

Sydney looks confused, then looks over at Sloane with that same confused look. "You lifted his suspension?" Sloane fidgets a bit, then says "Both you and Jack were right. He's better when he's working with us, and we all are better off with his help."

Tom nods in agreement. "Plus, me and Sloane both have a vested interest in finding Anna. She tried to kill Nadia twice. There won't be a third time." Sloane says to Tom, Jack and Sydney "Whatever you three need to do to find Anna, do it. Whatever it takes."

Tom nods and motions for Sydney to go with him back to APO, leaving Jack and Sloane to discuss Sloane's faith like they did in the actual episode.

* * *

><p><em>Story note: Despite Tom's best efforts, Sydney convinces him to finally get some sleep. Sydney works on the manifests throughout the night while Jack later decides to take the drastic action of reviving Nadia early from her coma. Unlike the first attempt at 'Project Nadia', Tom is asleep during Nadia's revival, so he's not there to protest. Nadia ends up fine and the information she gives Jack along with Tom's manifests, and an assist from Sark, result in Sydney finally defeating Anna and getting her into custody.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nadia's hospital room<strong>_

An excited, yet still somewhat sleepy Tom Falk rushes down the hallway leading to Nadia's room. In his right hand, he's got a bouquet of white lilies...just what Nadia likes.

Tom walks into Nadia's hospital room and stops dead in his tracks. He smiles widely as he sees Nadia smiling back at him and says "Good morning, beautiful." Nadia, keeping her smile, says "Good morning, handsome!"

Tom walks over to Nadia's right side and sits down next to her. He hands her the flowers. "Lilies, just how you like them." Nadia grabs the flowers and lifts them to her nose to smell them. She giggles a bit. "They smell beautiful!"

Tom immediately replies "So is your laugh. And your smile. I missed them both while you were away." Nadia sets the flowers on her lap, then grabs Tom's hand and looks into his eyes sincerely. "Thank you for being here for me. Sydney tells me you were outside my door for 24 hours straight protecting me."

Tom's smile erases and he gets a serious look on his face. "I wanted to be here for you. I made you that promise in Argentina a few years ago, and I will never, EVER break that promise. I love you so much." Nadia gives Tom a satisfied smile. "I love you, too."

Tom leans in and gives Nadia a kiss. Tom's smile returns to his face as he breaks the kiss. Still leaning in, he says "I also have two more things I wanted to give you when you woke up." Nadia's eyes open up wide. "Oh really?"

Tom nods. "The first thing is information. Nadia, I made peace with your father." Nadia breathes a sigh of relief. "I heard...but it feels good to hear it coming from you. I also hear your suspension is being cut down to a week. Tom, I know making peace must have been tough..."

Tom shakes his head and quickly replies "No it wasn't. For a moment there, when Anna came by last night to finish the job, I thought I had lost you. I pursued her with everything I had in me, determined to get vengeance. She got away, and when she drove off, my heart sank. I thought I had failed you. But then Sydney told me what your father did to protect you. Right then and there, I realized your father does care about you, and I can no longer hold that against him. Also, I had already came to the realization that either my love for you or my hate for him had to go. You're the only thing that matters in my life. Once I realized just how much I love you, it became a no-brainer for me to make peace with Sloane."

Nadia cracks a wide smile, satisfied that Tom has legitimately made peace with her father. "Thank you. I'm so happy you're in my life." Tom kisses Nadia's hand. "And I'm so happy you're in mine. Sydney finally convinced me to get some sleep last night, otherwise I would have been here by your side when you woke up."

Nadia giggles a bit. "You've done plenty already...oh, you said there was something else you had?" Tom smiles widely as he reaches into his right pocket. "Well, I'm told that you're going to be released today, which is great because..."

Tom then pulls out two tickets out of his pocket. "...I was going to have to figure out what to do with these two tickets to the USA vs Argentina soccer friendly tonight at the Los Angeles Colosseum!" Nadia beams with excitement and almost leaps out of the bed. "Tom, how did you get these?"

Tom quickly replies "Someone owed me a favor. I mean...I couldn't miss the chance to see the Americans whoop up on the Argentinians!" Nadia, now sitting upright from seeing the tickets, now starts laughing sarcastically. "Yeah, the US soccer team beating Argentina...that'll be a miracle!"

Tom sets the tickets down and looks deeply into Nadia's eyes, still smiling. "You, of all people, should know that miracles can happen!" Tom's smile then erases as he looks at her seriously. "From you saving my life in Argentina...to us finding together again in APO...to surviving a nearly-mortal gunshot wound...you continue to amaze me." Nadia leans over and gives Tom a hug.

As he's hugging Nadia, Tom catches something in the corner of his eye to his right. He quickly turns and sees Sydney standing in the doorway. Surprised, he breaks the hug and asks "How long have you been standing there?" Sydney smiles widely and giggles a bit. "Since you told Nadia that you were taking her to the soccer game tonight!"

Tom blushes out of embarrassment and looks at the floor. "And there goes my dignity..." Nadia and Sydney laugh. Sydney then says "No! It's ok!" Tom looks back at Sydney with a still embarrassed look. "I'll leave you ladies alone so you can ta..." He's interrupted by Nadia leaning over and grabbing his chin and turning it in her direction.

As Tom turns to Nadia, she leans in and gives him a kiss to end the chapter.


	8. Ch 7: Shopping Trip, Part 1

**SHOPPING TRIP PART 1**

_Timeperiod of two-part chapter: Season 4, Episodes 10 and 11_

_Note: There will be some Spanish spoken in this chapter. (English translations will be in parenthesis, like this.)_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in Los Angeles<strong>_

We catch up with a black, modern Cadillac driving down a freeway somewhere in Los Angeles. Inside the car, Tom is driving while Nadia sits in the front passenger's seat, each of them wearing shirts for the U.S and Argentina soccer teams respectively. Tom's is long-sleeve while Nadia's is short. Both of them looked like they had a good time.

Tom turns down the radio, which is from a local sports station talking about the game. "Well, I guess neither one of us have bragging rights tonight." Nadia lets out a sarcastic giggle. "Yeah, you guys were lucky to tie us 1 to 1!"

Tom looks at Nadia with an astonished look. "What? It was 1-0 USA until Tevez buried that miracle shot from outside the box in the 90th minute!" Nadia shakes her head. "That was no miracle, he's just that good! Besides, we LET you lead most of the game."

Tom sighs and nods his head. "Yeah, yeah, Argentina sat most of their regulars...I get it. Still, I guess this means neither one of us have to fulfill that bet now either." Nadia nods and smirks. "Good, I hate hockey!"

Tom look at Nadia again with another astonished look. "You've never even BEEN to a hockey game! It's a different game live than on TV! You would have seen that had the U.S won!" Nadia fires back "And you would have seen that you could salsa dance had Argentina won!"

Tom exhales quickly and turns back to the road. "Thank goodness this game ended in a tie then!" Tom then looks over a Nadia smiling. "In all seriousness, I had a great time tonight. I'm glad you were able to be there." Nadia smiles back. "I had a great time too."

Tom looks back at the road as he exits the freeway. "How are you feeling? I'd ask if you wanted to grab a bite, but I'm guessing you probably want to get some rest, having just got out of the hospital and all." Nadia thinks for a bit, then says "Yeah, I should be getting home. And you should rest up too, you haven't had much sleep lately, and you go back to work the day after tomorrow!"

Tom dismissively says "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine." Nadia then starts thumbing through a game program she bought at the game. "You know, when I was growing up in Argentina, I didn't have a lot of possessions, but there was one thing that I treasured more than anything."

Tom stops at a light and looks back over at Nadia with an interested look. "What was that?" Nadia looks over at Tom seriously. "I had a program from a World Cup qualifying match from 1985. It was Argentina vs Venezuela at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. My orphan mother, Sophia, got us all tickets."

Tom looks back at the road, but is still interested. "Who won?" Nadia laughs. "Argentina, of course! 3 to nothing. Maradona scored this unbelievable goal in the 90th minute, I'll never forget it!" Nadia's cheery look suddenly turns somber. "Anyway, that program symbolized one of the only good days of my childhood...sadly, I lost that program when I ran away from the orphanage."

Tom gets a concerned look on his face as he pulls up to Sydney's apartment. "Why did you run from the orphanage?" Nadia thinks for a bit, then shakes her head as her somber look remains on her face. "I don't want to talk about that."

Tom thinks about pressing the issue, but thinks better of it as he gets out of the car. Nadia follows suit. The two walk up the walkway to Sydney's apartment, then stop at the front porch.

Almost immediately, Tom starts laughing. Nadia gets a confused look on her face. "What is it?" Tom stops laughing, but still is smiling. "Remember the last time we stood here after we went out on a date?"

Nadia starts laughing herself, then yells "SYDNEY! IT'S ME AND TOM! I'LL BE IN IN A BIT!" Tom gets a shocked look on his face as Nadia is yelling. After Nadia's done, Tom tells her "Whoa! You want everyone on the block to know you're home?"

Nadia finishes laughing, then pulls Tom in for a goodnight kiss. They hold on to the kiss for a few seconds, before finally letting go. Nadia then smiles wide and says "Thank you for a great time tonight. I'll see you at work Monday, I guess?" Tom nods and smiles wide. "Yes, you will. And thanks for...well, thanks for being you."

Nadia giggles a bit. "No problem! Love ya, handsome!" Tom smirks and says "Love ya too, beautiful." Nadia then enters the front door of Sydney's place while Tom heads back to his car.

As he's walking back to his car, he thinks back to the conversation he and Nadia just had about the program. And then he gets a wild idea. _"Nadia told me that her birthday is coming up...wouldn't that program be a perfect gift? But who would possibly have a program that old?"_

Tom gets into his car and then gets another idea. He knows a guy that can get him that program. And it's not a guy that Sloane, Jack, or anyone at APO would want him to be consorting with after he's back at work.

Then he realizes somethingas he gets into his car: He can pull this off before Monday. Tom then peels off, intent on getting Nadia that program.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jack's house<strong>_

We find Jack sitting in a recliner reading some documents. He's wearing reading glasses and has a glass of bourbon sitting off to his left. He jumps a bit as the cell phone next to that bourbon glass rings.

He answers quickly. "This better be important, it's late." A voice on the other end says "I understand, but you said you wanted to know if Tom Falk was going to be leaving the area unexpectedly?"

Jack leans forward. "Yes, what is it?" The voice on the other end says "A man fitting Falk's description just boarded a plane bound for Buenos Aires. I'm 99% sure it's him."

Jack raises his eyebrows. He knows Tom returns to work the day after next, what could he be going to Buenos Aires for? Still unsure, Jack says "Thank you" and hangs up.

Immediately, he punches a number into his phone and puts the phone to his ear. "This is Jack Bristow. I need you to track a man that will be landing in Buenos Aires in the morning from Los Angeles. His name is Tom Falk. I'll email you the particulars in a bit." The voice on the other end asks "Do you want me to approach this man?"

Jack immediately replies "No, just follow him and report to me on his stops. Do not intervene in anything he does." The voice on the other line says "Got it."

Jack hangs up. He knew Tom could be a bit unpredictable, but not like this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Buenos <strong>__**Aires, the next day**_

The sun is starting to rise at the Ezezia International Airport. Inside, we find Tom leaving an arrival gate from a flight from Los Angeles. As he walks towards the baggage claim, we spot an Argentinian man get up and hold up a cell phone to his ear.

On the other line, we see Jack pick up the phone at APO. There's not many people there since it's a Sunday, but Jack and Sloane are. Jack puts the phone to his ear and says "Is he there?" The tracker says "Yes, he just left the plane, I'm following him to the baggage claim...wait..."

Jack quickly asks "What is it?" In the airport, Tom walks right by the baggage claim. The tracker, still on the phone, says "He didn't pack anything for this trip. He's heading straight for the exit."

We see Tom walk out the exit and stand curbside, waiting for something. The man walks out the exit himself and bumps into Tom. Tom looks at the man a little irritated. "Hey! Too many cocktails on the plane?" The man casually shakes his head and says "sorry" and continues to walk towards a parking lot across the way.

On the phone, he tells Jack "Ok, I just planted a tracking device on him, but it's a short-range tracker. I'll keep following him just to be safe." Jack, back at APO, says "Good, let me know where he goes." Jack then hangs up the phone and looks up at Sloane, who has a curious look. "What was that about?" Jack says "Tom went to Buenos Aires. He apparently didn't tell Nadia or Sydney why. I'm having him followed." Sloane, rather plainly, says "Keep me informed" and walks off.

Back in Buenos Aires, Tom is able to flag down a taxi. The taxi stops and Tom opens the rear passenger's door and gets in.

Inside the cab, he hands the cab driver a slip of paper. "¿Sabes de dónde es esto? (Do you know where this is?)" The cab driver sighs. "Por desgracia, sí (Unfortunately, yes)." Tom, rather intently, says "Bueno, aunque por suerte sabía donde estaba, me lleve allí de todos modos. Usted obtendrá una buena propina. (Well, even if you fortunately knew where it was, take me there anyway. You'll get a good tip.)" The driver merely says "Si (yes)" and starts driving off.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Magistrados Cantina<strong>_

The taxi pulls up to a rather uninviting cantina in the city. The taxi driver says "Aquí tiene. 52 pesos argentinos (Here you are. 52 Argentine pesos.)." Tom reaches into his pocket and gives him 4 bills. "Quédese con el cambio (Keep the change)." The cab driver looks at the money and smiles. "Usted es un hombre de palabra! (You're a man of your word!)"

Tom smirks back and gets out of the cab. The taxi drives off and Tom walks into the cantina.

There's a couple of Argentinian gang members in the cantina, but it doesn't look very busy at all. They eye Tom down a bit as he walks up to a man keeping watch over a door on the far side of the bar. The man holds up his hand and says, in English, "What do you want?"

Tom casually says "I'd like to speak to your boss." The doorman shakes his head. "He's not accepting visitors." Tom lets an evil smirk form on his face. "Tell him...Halcón Diablo has returned. Then, you come back and tell me if he's accepting visitors."

The doorman turns and walks in the door. One of the larger gang members that was watching Tom intently walks up to him now. In a deep, intimidating voice, he says "Did I just hear you just call yourself 'Halcón Diablo'?" Tom, still smirking, says "You heard right."

The gang member eyes him down a bit, then grins. "I fought the Conquistadores during the raid you tipped us off on a few years ago. I'd be honored to buy you a drink, esse!" Tom shakes his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll wait for your boss to offer me something."

Just as he says that, the doorman returns. He says "Hector will see you now." Tom smiles and walks by the doorman through the door.

Tom enters an office that features various posters, pictures, and mementos from Argentinian culture. Dead ahead of Tom is a large wooden desk, and behind that desk is a rather large older man, with graying black hair and graying black goatee.

Before Tom can say anything, the man stands up quickly and slams his hand on the table. "Haha! Right on schedule! Every four years, Halcón Diablo drops by and we go on a bloody crusade together! It's good to see you, my friend!" Tom smirks as he casually walks up to the man and shakes his hand. "Good to see you too, Mister Villejas."

The man laughs that last part off. "Oh please, you know better than that. Call me Hector!" Tom shrugs. "Very well, Hector. How are things with the Los Magistrados since our last 'bloody crusade' in 2001?"

Tom takes a seat in front of Hector's desk while Hector walks back behind it. As he's walking back there, he says "Things could not be better! A few small gangs like to make noise, but it's nothing we can't handle! Can I offer you a drink?" Hector pulls out a bottle of tequila, but before he can start pouring tequila into two shot glasses already set up on a table behind the desk, Tom says "Hector, you should know by know that I prefer to save my drinks until after our business is complete."

Hector stops what he's doing and puts his finger in the air. "A ha! You're right! My apologies." Tom shakes his head. "No apology necessary, Hector. I just need help locating something."

Hector raises his eyebrows a bit as he takes a seat at his desk. "Another man being held hostage by a rival gang?" Tom shakes his head again. "No. This is a personal favor I need from you. No gangs need to be wiped off the map this time."

Hector chuckles. "I see, I see. What can I do for you?" Tom leans forward with a serious look on his face. "Hector, you told me during the Conquistadores mission that if there was anything I ever needed, you could get it. I said back then that I'd test you on that promise. Well, here I am."

Hector leans back in his chair and smirks. "Very well, what is it you're looking for?" Tom smirks. "Do you deal in fútbol memorabilia?"

Immediately, Hector starts busting out laughing. "Are you kidding? You came all the way down here to ask me this?" Tom looks a little disconcerted. "This item I'm looking for is very important to me. It's for a friend of mine that just moved to the States from Argentina. She lost this game program she had growing up and she valued it highly. Her birthday is tomorrow. Now, I have a feeling this item is very rare, and finding one, in ANY condition, 20 years after the fact might be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. So yes, to answer your question, I came here to ask you that because I need your help finding this, mint condition if possible."

Hector stops laughing and then waves his hand. "I'm sorry to belittle your problem. What game is this program from?" Tom quickly replies "The program is from a 1985 World Cup Qualifying match between Argentina and Venezuela. The game was held at the Estadio Monumental. I figured if there was anyone that might still have a copy lying around somewhere, it'd be you."

Hector chuckles a bit. "I run the company that prints the programs for those games. I've owned that company since the 1970's. So, yes, I probably do have a copy..." Hector then thinks for a bit. An idea just popped into his mind. "...but, I cannot accept money for this item. You want me to do you this favor, I'll need a favor from you."

Tom shifts in his chair a bit, a little worried about what Hector will ask of him. "What do you need?" Hector leans forward. "I own a grocery store a couple blocks away. I've had a problem with a persistent shop-lifter who steals from my store every single day. He's an arrogant little punk who has disobeyed my shopkeeper's orders to stay out of the store every single time. I just received a call before you arrived that he's there right now and he refuses to leave. Little does he know...he's about to get a visit from the notorious Halcón Diablo! I want you to kill this young punk!"

Tom doesn't break his confident look, but inside, his stomach is churning. He thinks to himself "_Dammit, I got out of the cold-blooded killing business years ago, I didn't come down here for this...maybe there's another way I can defuse this problem..."_

Tom stops thinking and says "If you'll provide me a gun and an escort for the duration of my stay here in Argentina, along with that program, I'll see that your shoplifter problem is taken care of. Now, can we have that drink?" Hector chuckles a bit, then stands up and goes back to the table and grabs the tequila bottle he originally had when Tom entered the room and pours two shots.

Hector turns and gives Tom one of the shots, then holds up his glass for a toast. "To 8 years of good business with each other...and many more!" Tom smirks and says "Here here!" and taps his glass with Hector's and drinks the shot, still a little worried about what's to come.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside the CantinaAPO Office**_

Tom walks out and gets into the back seat of a car that Hector provided for him. As the car drives off, we see another car down the street take off after it. It's being driven by the man that Jack has tasked to track Tom in Argentina.

The man gets back on the phone. Jack answers. "You have something?" The man says "He just left a cantina owned by Hector Villejas, the head of the largest gang in Argentina. He got into a car owned by Hector and I'm following him."

Jack stirs in his seat a bit. "Does he suspect he's being followed?" The man shakes his head. "No, he seems pretty intent on his business. Wait, the car just stopped...ah, in front of a grocery store Hector owns."

Outside, Tom gets out of the car and walks into the store. The tracker tells Jack "He just went in the store." Jack says "Let me know what he does" and hangs up. He gets up from his desk and walks to Sloane's office.

Immediately, Sloane notices him. "Jack, you have something new on Tom?" Jack nods. "Tom appears to be working with Hector Villejas on something. He's the head of the Los Magistrados gang in Argentina. I remember from when I recruited Tom that he had prior dealings with Hector, including the mission that he met Nadia in. I'm not sure what business he has with him this time."

Sloane leans back in his chair and ponders what Tom could be doing with Hector. Eventually, he speaks. "You mentioned to me, Jack, that Tom has never betrayed whoever he's worked for. And now, it would seem he has a keen interest in staying on the straight and narrow because of my daughter. And here he is, dealing with a man that has brought the CIA benefit in the past." Jack looks a bit confused. "What are you saying?"

Sloane shrugs. "I wouldn't be too worried. If he shows up to work tomorrow with either something or a valid explanation about this trip, then I'd consider this a non-issue." Jack, a little perturbed, says "He did not inform anyone about this trip..." Sloane cuts him off. "And why would he have? He's technically still suspended."

Jack, seeing as Sloane is not going to budge, says "I'm going to keep an eye on him anyway. I just don't like the timing of this." Sloane shrugs and gets up from his seat and starts gathering his things. "That's up to you. But I wouldn't start getting worried until he doesn't show up tomorrow, and I believe he'll be here. Have a good day."

Sloane walks past Jack, who is standing there stunned at the conversation he just had. He had thought for sure Sloane would have been against Tom's trip. Or have Tom and Sloane gone from mortal enemies to best friends? Jack sighs and walks back to his office, still not sure what to make of things.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hector's Grocery Store<strong>_

Inside the grocery store, Tom takes off his sunglasses in front of the register. He holds up a picture and looks at it for a bit, then looks around the small store for his man. Immediately, he finds him in a produce aisle in the back-right corner of the store, sporting a shaved bald head, large silver necklace, dirty wifebeater, and torn up jeans.

Immediately, Tom makes a beeline for that man. Tom walks up behind him and puts him in an air-tight headlock. The man squirms to try to break free, but Tom literally has a vice-grip on his neck as he's being dragged down the aisle and through a pair of swinging doors that lead to a backroom.

He tosses the young man on some empty boxes and quickly pulls out a gun he had tucked in the back of his jeans and points it at him. The young man quickly gets up to his feet and wants to charge at Tom, but sees the gun pointed at him and stops. "Whoa! Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

Tom continues to eye down the young man with a menacing look. "Junior Ortiz, do you know why I'm here?" Junior stands there nervously. He doesn't say anything for a few seconds, which causes Tom to get upset and fire a shot at his feet. The shot hits the ground about an inch from Junior's right toe, which causes Junior to jump up and scream in surprise.

Tom then points the gun back at Junior's head, cocks back the hammer, and yells "JUNIOR ORTIZ, DO YOU KNOW WHY I'M HERE?" Junior quickly answers "Because I've been stealing from this store?"

Tom nods his head slowly. "And do you know who owns this store?" Junior stammers a bit and says "Hector Villejas! I didn't think he'd mind..."

Tom fires a shot past Junior's ear, causing Junior to scream and start crying. Tom, in a loud, gravely voice, says "I DIDN'T ASK YOU WHAT YOU THOUGHT! And you're damn wrong if you don't think he cares! He sent me here to kill you!"

Junior's lip starts to quiver even more. "Please! I'm just trying to provide for my girlfriend and a son! We're homeless!" Tom starts breathing heavily as he continues to have a menacing look on his face, but this latest development surprised him a bit. "You mean to tell me that this is your best idea for taking care of your family?"

Junior quickly says "I can't get a job! Hector has blackballed me and no one will hire me!" Tom, still pointing his gun at Junior, reaches into his left pocket and pulls out his cell phone. He dials a number and puts the phone to his ear. He tells Junior "I'm going to confirm that last little comment you made."

On the other end, Hector answers. "Hello?" Tom says "Hector, it's Diablo. I'm here with your little shoplifter, and he has an interesting theory on why he feels the need to steal from your store!" Hector chuckles. "And what does the little bastard have to say?" Tom plainly says "He says he's homeless and you blackballed him from gaining employment. Is that true?"

Hector leans back and his smile goes away. "Tom, that is none of your business. Get rid of him..." Tom quickly replies "Hector, if the man can't get work, then how else is he going to feed his girlfriend and kid and put a roof over their heads? I'm not exactly looking at a hardened-criminal here, Hector, he's just a damn kid!"

Hector, still leaning back in his chair, now looks irritated. "Have you gone soft on me, Tom? I said KILL HIM!" Tom, now visibly upset, quickly replies "I'm not just some gun-for-hire and you know it, Hector!" Tom then takes a couple seconds to calm down. "Hector, I've thought up of an alternative solution. I can kill this boy if you want, but I want you to at least entertain this idea. Will you listen?"

Hector leans forward and now has an inquisitive look on his face. "I'm listening." Tom breathes a sigh of relief, happy that Hector is willing to hear him out. "You own a couple of farms outside of town, right?"

Hector quickly replies "I will not put him to work on my drug farms..." Tom cuts him off. "No, not THOSE farms. But, you advertise in your store that you still sell fresh produce, and I assumed you still owned those produce farms outside of town."

Hector leans back in his chair, seeing where this is going. "Yes...yes I do. Come to think of it, my foreman at my farm in Lobos has been begging me to send him some help. I have a truck that takes people from the city there at 6 every morning. Are you suggesting that I put this boy to work?" Tom smirks. "Hang on, let me ask him if he'd want to do that."

Tom presses the phone to the side of the leg and looks back at Junior, gun still pointed at him. Junior has not moved an inch since Tom started talking to Hector. Tom says "You have two options. One, I put a bullet in between your eyes right here, right now..." Junior screams "No! Please!"

Tom pulls back the hammer on his gun and his sneer from earlier continues. "Don't cut me off again! Anyway, the second option is to go to work in Hector's farm in Lobos. My guess is you won't earn a full wage until Hector deems you've paid for all that you've stolen from him, but eventually, you will have gainful employment. So death or work, what's it going to be!"

Junior quickly answers "I'll work on the farm! I'll work anywhere...just please! Don't kill me!" Tom nods and puts the phone back on his ear. "Did you hear that, Hector? He'll work for you." On the other end, Hector sighs and nods his head. "Ok, let me talk to him."

Tom reaches over and hands Junior the cell phone. "He wants to talk to you." Junior takes the phone and starts talking to Hector. While he's on the phone, Tom keeps the gun pointed at Junior and doesn't break his glare.

After about a minute, Junior hands the phone back to Tom.

Tom puts the phone back on his ear. "Are we good here?" Hector chuckles and appears to have his happy mood back. "Yes, we're good. You did your job. Let Junior go, talk to my shopkeeper, hand him your gun and say you're there for the key. Then, have my escort take you to the Retiro Bus Station. Inside, you'll find a wall of lockers. Your key will have a number on it, that will be your locker number. By the time you get there, your program will be waiting for you."

Tom nods his head and lowers his gun, much to the relief of Junior. On the phone, he says "It's been a pleasure working with you again, Hector." Hector smirks and says "Always. Adios, amigo." Tom says "Adios" back and hangs up the phone.

Tom smirks at Junior and says "If you don't get on that truck to the Lobos farm tomorrow, I'll be back." Junior says "I'll be on it! Thank you! Thank you so much!" Tom shakes his head. "Whatever. Get out of here and go find a shelter for your family."

Junior nods and runs out of the backroom. Outside, Tom's tracker sees Junior jog out of the grocery store, then take off down the street. Back inside the store, Tom walks up to the shopkeeper's counter and does as he's instructed and gets the key from the shopkeeper. He exits and enters the escort car.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Retiro Bus Station<strong>_

Before Tom gets out of the car, he gets a phone call. He answers. "Hello?" On the other end, it's Hector. "Tomas! You have a tail on you!"

Tom quickly turns around and looks back and sees the green car that his tracker has been driving in. "Thanks for the heads up!" Hector says "No problem. My shopkeeper tells me he hasn't been aggressively tracking you, but I thought you'd want the heads up anyway."

Tom says "Thanks, amigo" and hangs up the phone and gets out of his car. He doesn't look back at the car that's been tailing him as he enters the bus station.

On the other side of the small bus station, he spots the lockers. He walks up to them, sticks his key in a locker, and opens it up to find a manila envelope inside. He reaches in, opens the envelope, and finds his program in mint condition, just as he requested. He smiles widely. "Nadia's gonna love this!"

As he does that, he spots his tracker sitting on a row of seats casually talking on the phone. Tom quickly turns back to his manilla envelope and puts the program back in. He walks towards the exit, which means he'll have to walk by his tracker.

As Tom starts to walk by the tracker, he suddenly reaches over and snatches the phone from the man's ear before he can react. The tracker lunges at him, but Tom responds by grabbing the tracker and giving him a HARD punch to the face, knocking him out. Tom looks at his fist for a bit, a bit surprised at his own power.

He gets on the tracker's phone. "Who is this?" On the other end, Jack plainly says "It's Jack Bristow."

Tom raises his eyebrows, not expecting to hear Jack's voice. In a rather cocky tone, Tom says "Sorry Jack, I just knocked out your tracker. Seems like I always get followed in Argentina, and I had no idea he was with you. When he wakes up, give him my apologies." On the other end, an irritated Jack asks "What the hell are you doing down there?"

Tom, now with a serious look on his face, says "I had to pick up something before I returned to work tomorrow. I'm on the next flight back. See you then." Before Jack can respond, Tom hangs up the phone and tosses it on the limp body of his tracker.

Tom then walks out of the bus station, puts his sunglasses back on, and takes a happy sigh of relief. He got Nadia's program and he didn't have to kill anyone to get it. In fact, he probably changed a young man's life around for good.

Mission accomplished.


	9. Ch 8: Shopping Trip, Part 2

**SHOPPING TRIP PART 2**

* * *

><p><em>Timeperiod of two-part chapter: Season 4, Episodes 10 and 11<em>

_Note: This one is a bit longer than my previous chapters. If you're pressed for time, you might want to think about coming back to this later._

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office<strong>_

A cheery Tom Falk walks through the APO entrance. He's holding a gift under his right arm, presumably Nadia's program. As he's walking by, he's whistling "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Before he reaches the corner that turns into APO, he's cut off by an agitated Jack Bristow. Immediately, Tom stops his whistling.

Jack, who is noticeably taller than Falk, asks sternly "Your conduct yesterday was..." Tom cuts him off rather cockily. "...the conduct of a man who was still suspended. But, I'm back now...no more surprise trips."

Jack sighs, looking like he doesn't appreciate being cut off. "What were you doing in Argentina?" Tom raises an eyebrow, then looks down at the gift that he has tucked in his right arm. "I was just picking up this!"

Jack looks at the gift. "What is it?" Tom looks back up at Jack, still not intimidated. "Well, this is a birthday gift for Nadia. I was going to give this to her later, but...I could give it to her now, I guess. Follow me!"

Before Jack can respond, Tom sidesteps Jack and heads towards the office area. Jack grudgingly follows along.

Tom turns down the hallway, and the moment he spots Nadia at her desk, he starts whistling "Happy Birthday". Nadia looks up suddenly and smiles. "Hey! Welcome back!"

Tom ignores that comment and keeps whistling. With Jack almost hovering over him, he grabs the gift and hands it to Nadia, still whistling "Happy Birthday". Nadia looks perplexed at the gift. "What is this?"

Tom finally stops whistling. "I hear it's your birthday today! So, I got you a little something." Nadia chuckles a bit and shakes her head. "Tom, I don't even know when my birthdate is..." Tom cuts her off. "It's gotta be sometime! And apparently, today is the day you've historically celebrated your birthday! Besides, I made a special trip for that...Come on, open it up!"

This conversation has now attracted the attention of Sloane and Sydney, who both walk from Sloane's office over to Nadia's desk. Nadia notices, and now looks embarrassed. "Come on guys, it's no big deal!" Sloane looks at the gift Nadia has in her hands, then over at Tom. "This is what you went to Argentina for yesterday?"

Sydney raises her eyebrows, and Nadia, who was looking at the gift, now snaps her head up with a similar shocked look on her face. Nadia asks Tom "You did what?" Tom laughs at Sloane, then turns to Nadia. "I had to go through a mutual friend of ours to get that."

Nadia tilts her head, still confused. "Who?" Tom smiles wide. "That's not important, but if you think long and hard about the mutual friends we could have in Argentina, and who would be even capable of getting such a rare gift, the answer will come quickly."

Nadia thinks, then looks like a lightbulb just went off her head. She opens her mouth to speak, but Tom cuts her off impatiently. "Enough talk, OPEN IT!" Nadia gives Tom a glare, then proceeds to open up her gift.

Once she's done ripping paper, she realizes what she's holding in her hands, her eyebrows shoot up as high as they go and her mouth opens wide in complete, utter shock. "OH MY GOD! The program!" Nadia looks at the cover for a while, then thumbs through the program a bit. Sydney asks Tom "What is the program from?"

Tom goes to answer, but Nadia cuts him off. "I had a copy of this program at the orphanage, I went to the game when I was very young...I treasured this program more than ANYTHING growing up..." Nadia then looks over at Tom and is about to cry tears of joy. "Tom...I can't believe you did this for me!"

With a calm smile, Tom says. "The reaction when you opened that program..." Tom then turns to Sloane, and then Jack and turns back to Nadia to finish his sentence. "...made it all worth it." Nadia then walks around the desk and gives Tom a hard hug. "Thank you so much!"

Sloane, with a smile, says "That was a very nice thing you did, Tom." Tom turns over to Sloane, still hugging Nadia, and gives him a headnod, but says nothing.

Sydney, who's been standing next to Sloane all this time, says "You should come over to Sloane's tonight. We're having a party for Nadia." Nadia releases the hug suddenly. "What?" Sloane says "Sydney suggested it just a few minutes ago. You should be with your friends on your birthday."

Nadia, astonished at all the attention that's been focused on her in the last couple minutes, says "Guys, really! It's not a big deal!" Tom laughs, which forces Nadia to turn to him quickly. Tom says "If your birthday wasn't a big deal, then I wouldn't have gone the length I went to in order to get that gift for you."

Tom then turns over to Sloane. "Count me in!" Tom turns over to Jack, who has his usual poker face. "Are you coming, Jack?" Jack nods his head. "Yes. And we'll talk about your little trip later."

Tom nods his head, not the least bit concerned about the conversation that is to come. Tom turns back over to Sydney. "You need me to bring or cook anything?" Sydney looks at him a little sarcastically. "I think you've done enough!" Tom shakes his head. "I'm sure you need help baking a cake for her. I'll stop on over after work and help."

Sloane breaks up the happy vibe. "Alright, let's get back to work. Welcome back, Tom." Tom looks at Sloane and smirks. "Glad to be back."

Everyone goes their separate ways. Tom sits down at his desk and goes to work on his computer. Nadia sits at hers, still somewhat in shock at the events that have just transpired.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sloane's House<strong>_

_Note: This is the part where Sydney goes to Sloane's office to retrieve his conversations with a former Alliance agent, and she gets caught red-handed by Nadia. While THAT is going on, this takes place at the dinner table._

Tom, Sloane, and Jack are seated at the dinner table. Sloane and Jack appear to have finished their meal, but Tom is still happily eating. After taking a bite, he looks up at Jack. "Man, your daughter's a hell of a cook, Jack."

Jack is not amused. Immediately, he changes the conversation. "We need to talk about your trip to Argentina yesterday." Tom drops his fork and looks irritated. "You saw the gift I got for Nadia. That's why I went down there, that's the ONLY reason I went down there. What else do you need to know?"

Jack asks "What did you have to do to get that program?" Tom chuckles and goes back to his food. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Jack quickly says "Try me." Tom drops his fork again and looks at Jack a bit flustered. "In exchange for the program, Hector Villejas, the leader of the Los Magistrados gang, wanted me to kill this teenage boy that was constantly shoplifting from his grocery store."

Jack now looks aghast. "Please don't tell me you actually committed murder for a soccer program." Tom shakes his head slowly. "Jack, I'm not insane...of course I didn't. I defused the situation by getting Hector to agree to hire the kid to work on one of his produce farms. The boy had a girlfriend and a son and was living on the street and now, he has gainful employment. So, I actually did two good things down there."

Sloane quickly asks "Why did you go through a gang leader to get that program?" Tom turns his glance over at Sloane to his left. "I've worked with Villejas in the past and have good relations with him. He was my best bet at getting Nadia this program. Plus, I hadn't spoken with Hector for some time. It's good to keep your powerful contacts fresh."

Sloane smirks. "Why side with Villejas?" Tom laughs and rolls his eyes. "What, are you going to give me a lecture on shady contacts, Sloane? You know as well as I do that having those kind of contacts on your side is a sad but true reality of what we do."

Sloane leans forward. "That's not what I was referring to. I'm asking why you what made you take sides with him in the first place and not someone else?" Tom leans forward as well, now looking sincere rather than sarcastic like he just was. "In the Anti-Cartel, I learned early on that many gangs and their leaders were either stubborn, stupid, or in most cases, both. But, I also learned early on that the gangs that are headed by smart men willing to listen to reason...THOSE were the ones you wanted on your side. Not only will these leaders listen to reason, but also because the smart ones were usually the top dogs. If you're going to have scum on your side, why not choose the best?"

Sloane smirks again. "That's an interesting philosophy." After Sloane pauses for a moment, Jack takes over the conversation. "You should have informed someone, even if it were Sydney or Nadia." Tom looks over at Jack with his eyebrows raised. "I didn't want to risk blowing the birthday surprise! Besides, I was still suspended. But, I'm ready to play ball now. You don't have to worry about me making those surprise trips again as long as I'm in this division's good graces."

Jack nods, but doesn't say anything further. Sloane coolly asks "How are you feeling lately?" Tom glances over at Sloane confused. "Uh, what?"

Sloane fires back "How are you feeling physically? Or is your condition that precludes you from being a full field agent a mental one?" Before Tom can respond, Jack cuts him off. "Sloane, what are you doing?" Sloane keeps his glare on Tom. "I just want to know what is going on. Sydney tells me you were sprinting at break-neck speed after Anna at the hospital a few days ago, so it's not a physical issue. And Nadia tells me that you've been in a great mood lately, so it's not a mental issue. I want to know what this big mystery is, because I can't figure it out."

Tom gives Sloane an angry glare. "Sloane, we agreed to bury the hatchet. Don't go there with me. My condition does not preclude me from doing what I came here to do." Sloane leans back in his seat and looks relaxed. "Do you know why I passed you over for the decoder disc mission we just completed?"

Tom shrugs. "I thought it was just some sort of post-suspension punishment or you didn't want to throw me back into the fire right away." Sloane quickly fires back "I didn't want to throw you into the fire because I don't trust you in the field. You have a medical problem. And you won't tell me, Jack won't tell me, and the CIA won't tell me. I don't want you suffering a physical or mental breakdown out there."

Tom just sits there, stewing for a while. His medical condition is the one thing that he doesn't want to unearth, more so than his Anti-Cartel past. Jack chimes in, trying to be a voice of reason. "Tom, if we knew about what your condition is, we could get you field rated again. It doesn't appear to be anything major..."

At that point, Tom has had enough of the button pushing. He angrily jumps out of his seat and throws off his suit jacket on the chair next to him. Sloane and Jack look somewhat astonished at Tom's sudden burst of energy.

Tom then rolls up his right sleeve and holds his arm out, with the outside of the arm facing Sloane and Jack. Now deeply upset, Tom screams "YOU CALL _THIS_ NOTHING MAJOR, JACK?"

Jack is taken aback a bit by Tom's outburst. Sloane, meanwhile, leans in to look at a long, ghastly looking scar that appears to start at the tip of Tom's pinkie and runs along the outside of his arm and up beyond his elbow before being cut off by his rolled-up dress shirt sleeve.

Sloane looks almost mortified. "What happened to you?" Tom looks at Sloane with an extremely somber look on his face. In a pained voice, he says "I had a medical procedure performed on me against my will...for reasons I might never know and for reasons I'd probably never understand if I did know. This isn't my only scar I have from this procedure...but it's the only one I will show you."

Tom then quickly rolls down his sleeve and puts his suit jacket on. Jack asks Tom as he's putting his clothes back on "Why didn't you tell us this before?" Tom plainly says "Because the higher-ups in the CIA don't want me to... and because I don't want to either. All I will say is...that tracker you had on me yesterday, Jack...there was a reason that it only took one punch for me to knock him out. And this...procedure was the reason."

Tom then straightens himself up and sits back down in his seat. Jack says "That tracker called me late last night. He says he thought he was hit with a hammer, not a fist...and he accepts your apology." Tom keeps his gaze on the table and ignores Jack's comment. Still pained, he says "I am forever changed because of what was done to me. After it was over, I came back to the world I knew and discovered I had lost just about everything that meant anything to me, including my very purpose in life."

Tom then looks up at Sloane sincerely. "I regained that sense of purpose when I discovered Nadia was working here. She's almost all I have left." Sloane nods his head, but doesn't say anything as Tom buries his head in his hands.

After some silence Sydney and Nadia return to the table. Nadia looks visibly upset as she takes her seat next to Tom. Sydney, meanwhile, looks concerned. "I heard yelling just a little bit ago, is everything ok?"

Tom goes back to his dinner, not saying anything and looking visibly shaken. Jack says nothing himself. Sloane finally breaks the silence. "No, everything's fine. Is everything ok with you two?" Sydney looks over at Nadia, who looks offended by something. After some awkward silence, Sydney just says "Yeah."

What had previously been a nice night had turned out to be an uneasy one, caused by two separate incidents by two separate groups.

After some more awkward silence, Tom drops his fork. Still somber, he says "I'm done. Sorry for holding up the cake." Tom stands up and grabs his plate, but Sydney walks over and grabs the plate. "I'll get this."

Tom shakes his head. "No, I'll take this back. But, you can help me get the cake." Sydney, picking up on Tom's down mood, says nothing, but just nods her head as she walks to the kitchen with Tom.

In the kitchen, Tom scrapes the rest of the food off of his plate into a wastebasket and sets his dish into the sink. While he's doing that, Sydney pulls Nadia's cake out of the fridge. She sets the sizeable cake on an island table in the middle of the kitchen.

Tom walks over to the cake as Sydney pulls out a box of candles. Both of them are noticeably silent as they start arranging the candles. Finally, Tom looks up at Sydney. "Did something happen with you and Nadia?" Sydney stops arranging candles and looks back at Tom. "Nothing. Did something happen with you, Dad, and Sloane?"

Tom, with an incredulous glare, says "Nothing." Sydney doesn't buy it. "There has to be a reason that you look like death warmed over out there when we got back." Tom, still with that incredulous glare, says "And there has to be a reason that Nadia looked like death warmed over when SHE got back. You want to tell me about that, or are we just going to stay in a stalemate?"

Sydney says nothing as she goes back to arranging candles. Seeing as he's not going to get an answer, Tom goes back to arranging candles himself. As he's setting up candles, he says "Let's try to put up a cheerful face when we walk out with the cake. This is Nadia's night." Sydney doesn't respond to that, and Tom picks up on that. "It IS Nadia's night, right? Or is there something else going on here?"

Sydney stamps down the last candle and looks up at Tom. "You should carry the cake out. After what we just went through, she'd appreciate the gesture from you, and not from me." Sydney then suddenly walks out, leaving Tom wondering just what the hell happened between them.

About a minute or so later, Tom exits the kitchen door and walks out to the dining table, where everyone else is set up. Trying to put on a happy face, Tom starts singing "Happy Birthday". He notices that no one at the table is joining in on the singing, but he struggles through the song anyway.

He sets the cake in front of Nadia and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday, beautiful." Nadia looks at Tom and gives him a very faint smile and squeaks out "Thanks." She turns to the cake and ponders what she's going to wish for. She then looks over at Sydney, still hurt at her betrayal earlier that night. Suddenly, Nadia turns back to the cake and blows out the candles.

Tom looks out at everyone at the table. "Does anyone want cake?"

No one answers. The tenor of the night has been completely ruined.

Tom starts pulling out the candles. As he does, Nadia finally breaks the silence. "Tom, can I stay at your place tonight?"

Tom looks at her curiously. So does Sloane. And Jack. And Sydney.

Tom asks "Why? What happened..." Nadia cuts Tom off. "Please, can I stay with you? I want to go." Tom sighs and looks over at Sydney, hoping to get an idea of what happened. He turns back at Nadia and nods. "Sure. Let's go." Sydney stands up quickly. "I'm leaving too."

Tom, Nadia, and Sydney leave, leaving just Sloane and Jack in the dining room to themselves.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment<strong>_

Nadia and Tom storm into Sydney's apartment. Nadia still looks pissed, and Tom is just trying to keep up with her. A few steps behind the two is Sydney, who also walks through the front door. Nadia, still walking with power and purpose, tells to no one in particular "I just have to pick up a few things and we'll be out of here."

Nadia storms into her bedroom next to the kitchen and slides her door shut HARD, causing Tom to jump a bit.

Now, Tom and Sydney are standing in the kitchen. Sydney walks over to her usual spot at the sink while Tom remains standing near one of the breakfast bar chairs.

Tom glares at Sydney angrily. "Ok, this is bullshit! What the hell is going on?" Sydney sighs, then looks at Tom with an angry glare herself. "You tell me why you blew up tonight on Dad and Sloane and I'll tell you what happened with me and Nadia."

Tom feigns surprise and sarcastically says "Oh, so we're playing 'Let's Make A Deal' now? Is this what it has come to?" Sydney shrugs. "You tell me."

Tom shakes his head as he looks down at the table, thinking about his next move. Nadia's mood tonight really bothers him, but he also doesn't want to reveal his medical secret if he doesn't have to.

Tom looks back up at Sydney, apparently making up his mind. "Your Dad and Sloane pressed me about my medical condition. My condition is my secret...and it stays that way." Sydney fires back "Why won't you tell us? What's the big deal?"

Tom snaps back "Because...because I don't want my condition to define who I am. There, I've said what you need to know. What the hell is going on with you and Nadia?"

Sydney looks over at Nadia's bedroom, then leans in and starts whispering. "I had to pull some emails from Sloane's computer. He's been talking to a former Alliance agent, and the only way I could get the emails is if I pulled them from Sloane's computer directly." Tom lets out an offended chuckle. "So this whole birthday party was just a goddamn ruse?"

Sydney quickly whispers back "Calm down!" Tom shakes his head. "No! I'm disgusted that you would sell out your own sister for a bunch of damn emails. Why the hell didn't you tell me about this?"

Sydney says "Because I expected this kind of reaction from you, and because you and Sloane are now on good terms..." Tom cuts her off quickly. "We're WHAT!" Tom then leans in and starts whispering. "If you think that me and Sloane are suddenly best friends forever, you're delusional. I still hate that man. All me and Sloane agreed to was that I would TRY to work with him instead of being so hostile towards him."

Sydney gives an understanding nod, then folds her arms. "Tom, we had to get those emails. By any means necessary." Tom turns away and starts pacing. He eventually stops and turns back to Sydney. "And that meant using your own sister, a woman who's been through enough abandonment and betrayal in her life, to get it. Nadia was legitimately looking forward to this night...she hasn't had much reason to celebrate ANYTHING in her life." Tom walks and stands about an inch from Sydney's face. His voice has now turned sinister. "And yet, you take a dagger and you drive it right into her freaking back."

As he says that, Nadia busts out of her bedroom holding a piece of luggage. Focused on just leaving and not paying any attention to Sydney and Tom's argument, she tells Tom "Let's go." Tom nods his head and looks back at Sydney with a disgusted look. "For someone who hates the man so much, what you did tonight sounds like something Sloane would do. He has no problem exploiting his family, and apparently neither do you. You really surprised me tonight."

Sydney says nothing, but has an offended and upset look on her face as Tom turns and follows Nadia out of the apartment.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's car, somewhere in Los Angeles<strong>_

Tom pulls off of the freeway. He looks over at Nadia, who has not spoken since they left Sydney's. Tom reaches over and gently grabs Nadia's hand. "Sydney told me what happened. I'm so sorry." Nadia, who was watching out the window, turns back over to Tom. "Why would she do this to me? Why?"

Tom turns his attention back to the road. "She appears to be willing to do anything to bury Sloane. I just didn't expect her to exploit you." Nadia shifts in her seat a bit. "And the night was going so well, too."

Tom nods his head. "I know. This was YOUR night. Sydney did not tell me a damn thing about what she was doing beforehand. Apparently, she thinks that I would have ratted her out to you." Nadia looks at Tom quizzically. "Would you have?"

Tom thinks for a bit, then nods his head. "Yeah. I still have my suspicions about Sloane, but to ruin your night over it was uncalled for. You've been through enough in your life, you don't deserve to have a rare moment of celebration ruined on the account of work." Nadia smiles and rubs Tom's hand. "Thank you for having my back. You're now the only certain thing I have in my life. I can _always_ count on you to have my back. I thought I could say the same about Sydney, but..."

Nadia just leaves that sentence unfinished as Tom pulls up to his parking spot in front of his apartment.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's Apartment<strong>_

Tom and Nadia stand at the front door of his 2nd floor apartment in what looks like an average apartment complex. Tom inserts his key, then looks at Nadia. "I'm going to warn you, my place isn't nearly as fancy as Sydney's. I'm a bit frugal." Nadia, holding her luggage, just shrugs. "I'm sure it's fine."

Tom unlocks the door and opens up and lets Nadia walk in. Immediately, Nadia notices the average-ness of the place. White walls. No pictures. Basic 1-bedroom layout, with the bedroom off to the right, a bathroom on the back wall side, a small kitchen on the back-left corner of the apartment, and the rest of the space being devoted to living room space, with what looks like a used couch and used recliner and a 32-inch tv, which is also probably used from the looks of it.

Tom closes the door behind Nadia. "Welcome to Casa de Falk!" Nadia, for the first time in a while, giggles a bit. "I've been in worse..."

Tom chuckles and rolls his eyes, relieved that Nadia still has some humor in her in spite of tonight's events. Tom stands next to Nadia and says "You can go ahead and take a shower if you like. I'll let you take the bed, and I'll get the couch." Nadia looks at Tom a bit quizzically at that last part, but doesn't say anything. Eventually, she smiles at Tom. "Thank you for letting me stay here tonight. I hope I'm not too much of a burden..."

Tom puts his hands on Nadia's shoulders, a bit shocked at that last comment. "You're never a burden for me. Mi casa es su casa. (My house is your house)." Nadia leans in and gives Tom a kiss, then walks into the bathroom, presumably to take a shower.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment, about an hour later.<strong>_

We see Tom walk out of the bathroom, in his USA soccer long-sleeve shirt and shorts. He spots Nadia sitting on the couch, wearing one of his bathrobes, watching something on TV. "Anything good on?" Nadia shakes her head. "Not at this time of night, apparently."

Tom stands behind Nadia and again, puts his hands on her shoulders. He leans in and asks "Can I get you anything?" Nadia shakes her head again as she turns off the TV. "No, I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day."

Nadia stands up as Tom walks over to a closet and pulls out a pillow and a light blanket and tosses them on the couch. As he does, Nadia walks up to him and grabs his arm. "Tom, I want you to sleep next to me tonight." Tom looks at Nadia and shakes his head dismissively. "Nah, I'm good with the couch..."

Nadia then grabs Tom's other arm and stands close to him, looking up at his eyes. "Please, I'd feel better knowing you were by my side. Something about being next to you is so comforting." Tom thinks for a second, then smiles and says "Ok." Tom then leans in and gives Nadia a kiss, then walks with her to the bedroom.

Tom leaves on his long-sleeve shirt and shorts as he enters the bed. Nadia, meanwhile, takes off her bathrobe to reveal an old t-shirt and shorts. Tom recognizes them immediately. "I thought you brought your own clothes? Why are you wearing mine?" Nadia, a little defensively, says "I forgot my jammies! I hope you don't mind."

Tom leans on his hand. Casually, he says "Actually, you look good in my clothes. I hope you do realize that is a hockey t-shirt you're wearing though..." Nadia looks down at the shirt, which has the St. Louis Blues logo emblazoned on it. "Really? I just thought it looked neat."

Tom chuckles as he shifts his weight to rest his head on the pillow. Nadia turns off the lights and joins him in bed.

Tom smiles at Nadia as he pulls up the covers. "You know, it's going to be comforting to having you by my side, too. This was a good idea." Nadia giggles back, then says "Thank you for agreeing with me!"

Tom then touches Nadia's face lightly and gives her a peck on the lips. After he's done, he says "I love you...and I'm sorry how things went tonight. I wanted nothing more than to see you happy." Nadia cracks a small smile. "I know. And I love you, too."

Tom and Nadia exchange their goodnights and close their eyes, facing each other as they both fall asleep.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment, the next morning<strong>_

Tom is still lying in bed, this time facing the other direction. His right arm is rolled up completely and his ghastly scar is fully exposed up to his shoulder. But he doesn't know that because he's still asleep.

Suddenly, his nose twitches a bit. He smells something...tasty. Tom wakes up and rolls over and finds Nadia isn't there with him. Outside the bedroom, he hears the sound of something sizzling.

A groggy Tom walks out of the bedroom and immediately notices Nadia standing over the stove, still in Tom's old clothes and flipping some sausage patties. Eventually, she spots Tom standing outside the bedroom door. With a big smile, she says "Good morning!" Tom scans over to the sausage. "Morning...I see you found my Jimmy Deans."

Nadia goes back to cooking. "I just wanted to make us breakfast before we go to work today. I got coffee brewing and biscuits in the oven." Tom just chuckles a bit as he walks up to Nadia and kisses her neck. "You do too much. I usually don't eat breakfast on workdays."

Nadia looks at Tom a bit surprised. "Really? Ugh, I can't function if I don't have breakfast!" Tom asks "How long have you been up?" Nadia replies "Oh, half an hour or so. I didn't want to wake you."

Tom nods, then walks over to a drawer to the left of Nadia. "I have another birthday gift for you. Something I should have given you long ago." Nadia takes her attention away from cooking breakfast and looks at Tom curiously. "Tom, you've done so much already..."

Tom opens up the drawer and pulls out a key. He hands it to Nadia. "I meant it when I said my house is your house last night. You don't have to ask if you want to stay the night, or for the day, or whatever. You're always welcome here anytime." Nadia gives Tom a touched smile. "Thank you. There was a time in my life where I didn't have a home. And now, I have two!"

Tom laughs and gives Nadia a hug. "I love you, babe." Nadia gives Tom a peck on the cheek, says "I love you too", then goes back to cooking.

Tom wanders off to the living room and turns on the TV. Nadia looks over at him with a look of trepidation. Tom sits down on the couch and looks at Nadia and notices her worried expression. He asks "What is it?"

Nadia looks down at the floor. "Tom, I'm afraid to ask you this, because I know you don't want to talk about it..." Tom leans forward. "Nadia, what is it? It's ok, you can ask me anything."

Nadia looks up at Tom, still worried. "Tom, this morning, when we were in bed, I saw your scar on your right arm. I saw it run all the way up to your shoulder. I also saw a scar that runs up the back of your neck." It's now Tom's turn to look down at the ground. His face grows despondent. "Nadia, I wish you hadn't seen those."

Nadia, now intently, asks "I was horrified when I saw them, they look so terrible. What happened?" Tom, still looking at the ground, closes his eyes. He knew he'd have to cross this bridge eventually. "I don't want to give you the complete details. I'm just not ready for that."

Nadia turns off the burner and takes the biscuits out and quickly sets them on the counter behind her. She looks back at Tom with an ashamed look on her face. "I'm sorry, you don't have to say anything. I shouldn't have pried." Tom looks up at her. "No, it's ok. All I will say is that those scars are a result of a very invasive experiment conducted on me in 2003. I was not a willing participant. And yes, it was very painful."

Nadia puts her hand over her mouth. "Tom, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine..." Tom waves his hand dismissively. "Nadia, the actual experiment isn't what bothers me. It's what I lost as a result that hurts me on a daily basis."

Tom leans back on the couch, apparently finished with what he has to say. Nadia can't help but notice that this issue appears to be eating him up inside, even though she didn't get the full story.

Nadia then says "Breakfast is ready. Come and eat." Tom slowly gets to his feet and walks into the kitchen. He pours a cup of coffee and grabs a plate that Nadia had set up with sausage and biscuits. As he does, Nadia says "I've been thinking about what happened at my party last night." Tom looks at her with a somewhat irritated look. "I still can't believe what Sydney did to you..."

Nadia quickly replies "Tom, I can. And I don't think she purposely wanted to crash the party. I was lucky to even have discovered her." Tom shakes his head. "I would never exploit you like that. What she did was downright cruel."

Nadia looks down at the sink. "I know. But, even though I want to love my father, I still have my suspicions about him, too. I still don't really know him, but Sydney does. He's been in her life for so long...maybe she was right to do what she did." Tom walks to the living room and sits down at the couch. He's digesting Nadia's apparent turn of feelings.

He takes a bite of a piece of sausage and looks up at Nadia, who's still in the kitchen. "You may be right." Nadia looks at him a bit surprised. "Really?" Tom nods his head quickly. "Sydney is not a malicious person. It's not in her nature. But, there is a reality about what we do for a living that we just have to accept. And now that I think about it, too...I don't think her heart was in the wrong place."

Nadia takes a seat next to Tom on the couch and sets her coffee down on the coffee table in front of them next to Tom's. "When we get to work, we should talk to her. I think we both might have over-reacted." Tom looks at her and smiles. "You and your temper..."

Nadia laughs and smacks Tom on the arm. "MY temper? Look who's talking!" Tom just laughs as he goes back to his breakfast.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office<strong>_

Tom and Nadia approach Sydney's desk together. Sydney looks up quickly and sees them both standing there. She can't help but be a little worried about the conversation is to come.

Nadia starts off seriously. "Sydney, we need to talk about last night." Sydney quickly replies "I did what I had to do..." Tom cuts her off quickly. "I know."

Sydney looks at Tom a little surprised. Tom responds by saying "Such a ruse _was_ probably the only way you could have gotten the information. We just wish we could have been informed on what was going on." Sydney nods. "Guys, I'm really sorry. I really didn't mean to spoil your night, Nadia. I really did want you to enjoy yourself." Nadia says "It's ok. And we both realize that our behavior last night was a little over the top. We both let emotions get in the way of reason." Tom picks up from there. "I'm sorry about anything I said in your apartment last night." Nadia continues. "And I'm sorry for having an attitude."

Sydney smiles. "I think all three of us have some blame to go around. I should have told you two. I'm sorry." Tom nods and a smirk forms back on his face. He extends his hand for a handshake. "No harm, no foul. Let's put this issue to bed, ok?" Sydney smiles again and shakes Tom's hand. "Deal!" She then turns back to Nadia. "Are you going to be staying with Tom from now on?"

Nadia opens her mouth to say something, but is cut off by Jack Bristow coming up from behind. "Tom...Nadia...I need a word with you two immediately." Tom and Nadia look back at Jack a little worried, then back at each other. Eventually, they follow Jack to his office.

Tom and Nadia sit in front of Jack's desk while Jack takes a seat behind the desk. As Jack sits down, Tom says "If this is about last night, we were just clearing the air with Sydney. We understand..." Jack cuts him off. "That's fine, but this is not about that. Something else has come up."

Tom and Nadia look at each other. Jack says "Nadia, after your stint in the hospital recently, the doctors found some...anomalies in your blood." Nadia suddenly leans forward surprised. "What? What did they find?"

Jack says "Two things. One, they found something in your bloodstream that doctors THINK are endorphins, but doctors don't know what their function is. They do think they are naturally created by your body." Tom asks "What else did they find?"

Jack leans forward and looks at Nadia. "This part is why I'm telling you this, and not Sloane. They also found an unknown substance in Nadia's bloodstream. The only thing that is certain with this substance is that it interacts with your pheromones in some way."

Nadia folds her arms. "So, why is Sloane not aware of this?" Jack plainly says "Because, that second anomaly is not something that is naturally created by your body, like the supposed endorphins. It had to have found its way into your blood stream somehow. There's a theory that this is something that might be Rambaldi-related."

Nadia's jaw drops a bit. Tom's does too and he asks "How can they guess that?" Jack looks at Tom and says "A long time ago, the CIA was in pursuit of something called 'The Connection'. At the time, we didn't know what it was. At first, we thought it was something that connected two artifacts together. Well, we got close to retrieving it, but we were beaten to the punch by Elena Derevko, Irina's sister. But, the agent that saw it before it was grabbed saw two small vials of clear fluid in a briefcase. That answered the question of WHAT it was, but we still didn't know the fluid's purpose." Tom sees where this is going. "So, you think that, what Nadia has in her bloodstream, is 'The Connection'?"

Jack snaps back "It's just a theory at this point, but it's the only theory that makes sense." Tom leans back in his chair. "So, why am I here?" Jack plainly says "CIA doctors couldn't get a clear definition on what these anomalies are, but when we ran these substances into our database, a match came up. These substances were previously found in another person that was employed by the CIA."

Tom's eyes widen and his jaw drops again. He starts shaking his head slowly. "No..." Jack nods his head slowly. "I'm afraid these anomalies have also appeared in your bloodstream ever since you joined the CIA in 1991." Tom looks at Nadia with a look of disbelief, then sinks into his chair. "I...wha..." So many thoughts and questions are going through his mind now. Finally, he settles on one: "Why wasn't I ever informed of this?"

Jack says "Because the CIA thought they might have been false positives or something benign in your system. Anyway, there's also something else you two should know." Nadia and Tom both lean forward, waiting for the answer. Jack says "Tom, the substance that interacts with your pheromones...the CIA discovered after your mission with Nadia in 2001, that this substance had been active lately. Something triggered it into action."

Tom slaps his head. "Of course!" Jack and Nadia both look at him quizzically. Tom asks Jack "You say this thing interacts with my pheromones, right?" Jack nods. Tom then looks over at Nadia. "Remember when we first met, in the cantina?" Nadia nods. Tom continues. "When I first laid eyes on you, I thought I had been drugged! Something happened to me on the inside that did not feel natural. Nadia, you've told me before that you felt the same way!" Nadia, still surprised at this development, says "You think that _we're_ 'The Connection'?"

Tom looks back at Jack, unsure what to say. Jack thinks for a bit and says "It would appear to make sense. It also would appear that this substance is still working, since they noticed it was active in Nadia's blood at the hospital recently. We can't verify any recent activity with you, Tom, because you haven't had a physical since you started here. I'd like for you to have one done as soon as possible." Tom nods, then shakes his head, realizing something. "Jack, I'm not a part of this prophecy, what would Rambaldi want with me?" Jack leans forward. "Tom, up until a year ago, we didn't even know Nadia existed. As time goes on, we've been finding more and more details about his prophecy that we couldn't even have fathomed. I have to think that, maybe, you're a part of this somehow."

Tom slinks back in his chair. He's absolutely stunned at this development. He looks over at Nadia, and wonders if their love is really real, or something else...

_End of chapter_

* * *

><p><em>Story Note: Even though Jack, Sydney, Nadia, and Tom have made peace after last night, Sloane is still not convinced that Tom can be trusted in the field. Behind his back, Sloane secretly orders that Tom be withheld from any field assignments until more about his condition is revealed. And seeing how he's not going to get it from Tom, he runs his request up the channels in the CIA. Therefore, for the rest of Episode 10 and all of Episode 11, Tom is held back at APO, working on other things. As always, assume that everything else that happened in those episodes happened.<em>


	10. Ch 9: The Orphan & The Devil Part 1

**THE ORPHAN AND THE DEVIL PART 1**

_Timeframe of chapter: Season 4, Episode 12_

* * *

><p><em>Note: In the first attempt at Project Nadia, I dramatically altered this episode. This will be the case once again. This was also one of the reasons I decided to reboot this fanfic: for a guy that tried to stay true to detail to the actual episode, I completely bombed the first go-around and got some details way off. Probably because, like with most of the chapters, I rushed it a bit. Not the case this time. Fool me once...<em>

_Reference note: Remember, Nadia's codename in the field is "Evergreen" while Tom's is "Maximus"_

_Note: Sorry if you read this the first day I released it. The typos should be gone now. I still suck at proofreading._

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office<strong>_

Sloane and Jack have called a meeting, and some team members start pouring into the conference room. Nadia, looking like something is weighing on her mind, stands up from her desk and walks by Tom's desk to attend the meeting. Tom looks concerned. As he's watching her walk away, he spots Sydney walking towards the room.

Immediately, Tom stands up and flags Sydney down. "Hey, you have a second?" Sydney says "What is it?" Tom looks back at Nadia as she walks into the conference room, then back at Sydney. "Does Nadia seem alright to you? Seems like she's down about something. I was wondering if you've picked up on anything the past couple of days, since she's staying with you again."

Sydney shakes her head. "She went for a long run this morning. That's always a tell-tale sign that something is up." Tom shrugs. "Why? Nadia always works hard to stay in shape." Sydney shakes her head. "She was gone for a while. When something is bothering me, I always go on a long run."

Tom gives an understanding nod. "I see. Anyway, she's trying to pass it off on me as nothing's going on." Sydney nods. "Same here. Anyway, let's go to this meeting, they're probably waiting on us."

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Conference Room<strong>_

_(Note: In the interest of moving things along, I'll truncate this scene a bit. It stays pretty much true to form to the actual episode up to a point)_

Marshall explains the Institute of Science's amplifying glass to the team. When he's done, Jack says "We've received intel that the Jakarta Faction wants the lens and they've employed this man to acquire it for them." Jack displays a picture of a Latino man on a yellow cell phone on a screen. Sloane says "His name is Cesar Martinez, he's an Argentine resident." Nadia turns away with that troubled look she had earlier. Tom and Sydney take notice, but don't say anything.

Sloane says "A few days ago, I tasked Nadia with working up a profile on him." At this point, Nadia explains the man they're up against. When she's done, Dixon asks "When is Martinez planning on making a move?"

Before Nadia can answer, Sloane says "Signal intercepts indicate that he's developing a team...three days, a week at the most." Jack picks up from there. "The Institute of Science is dedicating a new wing to it's research facility in Minsk tomorrow night." Tom nods and smirks. "If we wanted to beat Martinez to the punch on this thing, tomorrow night would be the time to do it."

Sloane quickly replies "Exactly. Nadia, you're going to intercept the glass at the dedication tomorrow night. I'm sending you with Vaughn for support. Your cover will be that you both with Daily Dose of Science .com, an online science blog. Nadia, you will be the reporter, and Vaughn will be your boyfriend slash photographer."

Nadia shakes her head. "No offense, Vaughn, but I'd rather go on this mission with Tom in support." Vaughn nods his head. "I agree. If it's just two people, Tom and Nadia have worked well together in the past. It would be best to have that kind of familiarity in the field." An irritated Sloane notices Dixon and Sydney both nod their heads in agreement as well.

Sloane then gives Tom a lengthy glare, one that has Tom a little confused. Finally, Jack asks "Sloane?" Sloane looks at Jack quickly, then back at Tom. "Fine. Tom, you will be out in support with Nadia. Talk to Marshall about the equipment you'll be using." Sloane looks back out at the rest of the team. "Anyone else have any questions...or suggestions?" The rest of the team just sits there, not saying anything. Sloane then adjourns the meeting.

As everyone leaves, Sloane notices Nadia just sitting there. He walks up to her. "What is it?" Nadia shakes her head. "Don't worry about it."

Sloane then takes a seat next to her. In a comforting voice (for him, anyway), he says "It's ok, you can tell me anything." Nadia thinks for a bit. This whole thing with her former running mate Cesar has her troubled. But, something else also has been vexing her, and this is something she can address. She looks back up at Sloane. "Dad, I thought you and Tom made peace."

Sloane tries to play it off dismissively. "We've agreed to work with each other without malice. And I think we both have been holding up our end of the bargain. I've had no problem with his conduct lately." Nadia sees right through it and shakes her head. "No, I've noticed you've been holding Tom back for some reason, and when I brought him up for this mission, I saw the look of resistance on your face."

Sloane sighs. "I still have my doubts about his long-term viability here." This makes Nadia upset. "What are you talking about? He's been working hard here in the office, he's been valuable..."

Sloane shakes his head. "It's not that. Are you aware his his scars?" Nadia nods. "Yeah, it's horrible. But, he says they don't bother him anymore." Sloane leans forward. "Nadia, I don't like my staff keeping secrets from me. I feel I know you, I know Sydney, I know Vaughn, Dixon, and I think I know enough about Jack. But Tom is purposely hiding a secret from me, a secret that, for all I know, puts everyone here at risk if he's out in the field."

Nadia stands up. "Dad, he's not a risk. Listen, I'll look out for him when we're in Minsk." Sloane stands up as well. "Nadia, it's not your job to look out for him. Don't make him an unnecessary burden." Nadia shakes her head and now looks irritated. "He's more necessary to me than you'll ever know."

Sloane, now surprised, asks "What's that supposed to mean?" A defiant Nadia says "Let's just say me and Tom share...an unbreakable connection. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the mission." Nadia then storms out of the office, leaving Sloane to ponder what she meant by an 'unbreakable connection'.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Marshall's office<strong>_

Marshall walks quickly into his office, followed in kind by Tom. Marshall holds up an SLR camera. "Are you familiar with this?" Tom shrugs. "It's a camera. You point, zoom, take pictures. I know how to use one of these."

Marshall laughs. "Aha! It does all that pluuuus..." Marshall shows Tom a special switch on front. "...you flip this switch, and you'll be able to point this at the architect, and find the PDA in his pocket." Tom nods his head. "I see. So, is Nadia going to have to pickpocket this guy?"

Marshall waves his finger in Tom's face, which Tom just looks at suspiciously. "Ah, ah, ah! Old tricks are the best tricks, says the Flinkmaster!" Tom just looks at him blankly. Marshall walks over and holds up a black cartridge. "Remember this from the Monte Carlo mission?" Tom smirks. "Yes, and I actually call it...the Miracle in Monte Carlo."

Marshall laughs. "Yes! Well, Nadia will have this once again. She'll just need to get close...like REAL close to the architect and she'll be able to siphon off any data on the PDA. I've added a wi-fi transmitter on it that will send everything back to me. He's a real control freak, so he keeps anything and everything important to him on him...blueprints, technical layouts, you name it, so what you'll need WILL be on there." Tom nods his head as he grabs the cartridge.

Marshall then clasps his hands together at the waist. "Anything else?" Tom looks at the camera, then looks back at Marshall. "Actually, there is something that you might be able to help me with. It regards Sloane." Marshall fidgets a bit, an obvious tell that he's hiding something. "Uh...what...would...I know about him? The man is, like, THE most mysterious man I've ever met!"

Tom casually nods. "Yeah, he's just full of secrets. But, I've noticed as of late that he's been almost purposely holding me back from missions. And you saw his reaction when Nadia suggested I accompany her this time. Is there something going on with him and me that I should know about?"

Marshall doesn't immediately answer and Tom picks up on that right away. Tom starts walking up to Marshall slowly, which causes Marshall's eyes to dart to the floor. When he gets to Marshall, he squats down so he can look at Marshall in the eyes. "Marshall? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Marshall looks out at the floor and doesn't see Sloane anywhere. He looks back at Tom, who's back to a standing position. "Ok, ok! But...I'm only saying this because you helped carry in my new HDTV a few days ago...which I really did appreciate, by the way! I'm not NEAR strong enough to carry..." Tom impatiently cuts him off "You can thank me by telling me what's going on!"

Marshall nods quickly. "Right...right! Sloane went through me to put in a request for any top secret files on you, especially pertaining to your medical condition. I have no idea why he's digging into your past..." Tom cuts him off. "I do. He's looking for any reason he can to shit-can me. We may have made peace, but with Sloane, it's never that simple. If he can determine that I'm too much of a risk to work here...WHICH I'M NOT...then, he'll push for my removal. I just know it."

Marshall just shrugs a bit, not sure what to say. Tom smirks and gives him a few pats on the shoulder. "I appreciate the info as always." Marshall smiles and says "No problem! Good luck in Minsk!" Tom turns and walks out of Marshall's office.

As he approaches his desk, he turns to his right and looks into Sloane's office, where Sloane is seated. Eventually, Sloane looks up from his desk at Tom. Tom stares him down for a bit, then gives him a quick, reassuring headnod. The nod is returned by Sloane before he returns to his work. Under his breath, Tom says "So now, we're playing chicken, Sloane. Who's going to blink first before the collision?" Then he finishes walking to his desk with his camera and cartridge in hand.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Minsk<strong>_

Tom and Nadia arrive at the outdoor party. Tom is in a neatly-pressed tuxedo, with his camera looped around his neck. He's also wearing glasses, a last minute addition. Nadia, meanwhile, is dressed in the lovely teal dress that she was in in the actual episode. Tom is impressed with her choice in fashion. "Wow, you're going to be a head-turner tonight. You're easily the hottest woman here."

Nadia cracks a small, downright cocky grin. "Well, as a reporter, you have to be able to grab the attention of whoever you want to interview. And as a photographer, you just have to blend in." Tom adjusts his glasses. "I hate these damn things." Nadia confidently says "You look good in them, you should wear them more often!"

Back at APO, Jack interrupts the flirting. "I hate to break up your...conversation, but is there any sign of the architect?" Back at the party, Tom looks over to the left to see his man talking with a bunch of women. Tom casually says "He's 9 o'clock from my position. Let's see if he's got our little PDA." Tom holds up his camera and indeed, finds an image of the PDA in the man's pocket. "Yep, it's there."

Tom pulls away from the camera and looks at Nadia. "Alright, I'm going to look for our scientist." Tom then cracks a cocky smirk. "And you go do that voodoo that you do so well." Nadia smirks back. "Consider it done."

Nadia goes off to the left towards the architect while Tom starts milling around the party off to the right.

As Tom's taking time out to take some pictures, trying to blend in, Marshall explains to Jack why Nadia has to get so close to the architect in order to siphon the info from his PDA. As he's explaining, Tom spots his scientist in the crowd. "I've got the scientist. Let's see if he likes his picture taken..."

Tom, in character, strolls up quickly and confidently to the scientist. "Hey, doctor, I'm with Daily Dose of..." He doesn't complete the sentence because, while he was talking with his hands, he knocked his champagne glass out of the scientist's hand. Tom feigns surprise. "Oh no! Oh, my editor is going to kill me!"

Tom squats down with the scientist to grab the glass, but as he does, he pickpockets a security card from the scientist's pocket. The scientist notices Tom reach for his pocket. He thinks he sees something white in his hand...something like a card.

But, his concerns are alleviated when Tom instead pulls out a white handkerchief and picks up the fallen, cracked glass. "I'm so sorry, sir. I'll take care of this." Tom then stands back up with the glass and looks left and acts like he spotted someone. "Oh, she wanted me to get a picture of this guy..." Tom then storms off to the left, leaving the scientist to his confusion.

As he sets the broken glass on a passing-by waiter's tray, he hears Marshall say "I've got the info from the PDA. Maximus, how are you doing?" Tom smirks as he takes off his glasses to wipe some splashed champagne off of them with his handkerchief. "I've got the security card. That scientist probably thinks I'm such a klutz..."

As he says that, he bumps shoulders with a man that he did not expect to see: Cesar Martinez. The two lock eyes for a second. Cesar has a look on his face like he might have seen Tom from somewhere. Tom smiles and says "Pardon me! I can't see without my glasses!" Cesar just smirks and walks away, but as he's walking away, he puts a cell phone up to his ear.

Tom puts on his glasses and makes another turn to the left. Once he feels he's clear, he puts his finger up to his ear. "Cesar Martinez is here, I repeat, Cesar Martinez is here. I just bumped into him." At the entrance, Nadia has a look of surprise and dread on her face. "He wasn't supposed to be here!"

Back at APO, Jack asks "Maximus, where are you?" Tom says "I'm heading towards Evergreen's location." Nadia says "No! Hang on!" Tom stops in his tracks, and starts looking at his camera, trying to not be obvious. "What is it?" Nadia says "If Cesar is here, he's going after the glass. Maximus, did you see anyone else with him?"

Tom shakes his head. "No, just him. He got an eyeful of me, though." Jack gets a look of concern on his face. "We need to speed things up. Maximus, you said you have the card?" Tom nods. "Yeah, you want me to grab the glass?"

Jack says ""You are not authorized for this kind of..." Tom rolls his eyes, then gets a bit testy, but keeps his voice low. "Do you want the freaking thing or not? We need to act quickly or it's time to make like a shepherd and get the flock out of here!" As Jack lets out an audible sigh, Nadia says "If he got a good look at Maximus, he might be looking for him. I'll distract him." Jack quickly snaps "Evergreen, this is a dangerous man..." Nadia cuts him off. "I can defuse him, this will work. This should buy us some time."

Tom lets out a small chuckle. "Even so, if this guy crosses me, I think I can take him." A concerned Nadia says "You don't know this man. Don't underestimate him."

Tom looks down at his right hand and smirks. "Yeah, well he's never seen anything like my right fist. I can pull this off. Besides, I still have the de-scrambler for the safe, too." Jack thinks for a bit. He doesn't appreciate that Tom has put his feet to the fire, but he did seem confident. Jack nods his head. "Ok, proceed. Good luck."

Tom changes directions and heads towards the back of the party. Nadia, meanwhile, starts milling the party, looking for Cesar.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Inside the Institute<strong>_

Tom's keycard works and he enters the door. He carefully peeks around the hallway to see if anyone is there, and then proceeds down the hallway to the left. As he gets down to the hallway, he opens the door and enters the lab room.

As he does, though, he starts to hear static in his ear. He whispers "Guys, are you hearing this?" Hearing no response, he yanks the earpiece out and puts it in his pocket. "That's right, Marshall said mine wouldn't work indoors. I'll put it back on after I'm out of here."

Tom then reaches into his left pocket and pulls out an elaborate lock de-scrambler. He was meant to hand this to Nadia along with the key so she could retrieve this, but thankfully he saw the demonstration of how it works before the mission started.

He sticks the de-scrambler on a safe and waits for the numbers to spew out. He punches in the code and opens the safe.

But, as he does, he hears gunfire outside the door. The door busts open and two gunmen enter the room, along with a very confident-looking Cesar, holding a champagne glass. Tom stops what he's doing and stares him down, but doesn't say anything.

Cesar looks at the safe and asks "Looking for something?" Tom just stands there with a sneer, not saying anything. Cesar sets down his glass and casually walks up to Tom as the other two gunmen have their guns pointed at him. He gets into Tom's face and yanks off Tom's glasses. Cesar then smirks. "I knew it."

Tom raises his eyebrows a bit. "Well, look at the big brain on Cesar! You know something!" Cesar laughs a bit. "You may not know much about me, but I know ALL about you. That includes your sarcastic humor." Tom gives him an extremely sarcastic smile. "I see you've been to my stand-up act at the Comedy Club! Thanks for being a fan!"

Cesar chuckles, then menacingly shakes his head slowly. "Oh, I'm a fan. But not for your comedy. Your brutality, your bravado...and your evil...is a black mark in Latin America. I never thought I would see the day where I would have a chance to literally look the devil in the eyes." Tom scowls back. "Are you speaking as a guy who likes my celebrity...or did I affect you in some way?" Tom looks down and starts examining Cesar's body. "I see you have all your limbs, and you continue to live, so we must not have met."

Cesar scowls back. "I've done a lot in my career to get where I'm at. I rose up from NOTHING. But there wouldn't be anything sweeter for my future career prospects...than to be able to say I killed Halcón Diablo." Tom, with an evil look in his eyes, fires back with a low, gravely voice. "Then what are you waiting for? Others just as cocky as you have told that to my face...and yet, I still stand and they do not. So, if you have something to do...stop wasting time and do it."

During this staredown, Tom has not noticed that one of the gunmen has retrieved the glass from the safe. That same man now brandishes a lead pipe. Meanwhile, Cesar just gives Tom a smirk. "Because it'll be more satisfying to kill you and that little bitch you're with in one fell swoop." Tom's eyebrows raise a bit. _"Do they have Nadia?"_

But, before he can say anything, the gunman hits Tom in the head with the pipe HARD. Tom immediately blacks out.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in the Institute<strong>_

Tom is awoken by his body being shaken as well as Nadia's yelling. "Tom! TOM! Wake up!" Tom gets his focus, blinks a bit, and then sees Nadia's face. "Nadia...they got you too..."

Nadia says "Cesar made you. He remembers you from the past." Tom nods his head, but still looks like he's shaking off the cobwebs. "Apparently, he's the President of my fan club."

Nadia turns away and looks down. "I wonder if he knows we're together..." Tom cuts her off. "That could be. It couldn't be anything else, could it?" Nadia just keeps staring at the floor blankly.

Tom rubs the back-right side of his head. There's a pretty sizeable lump there. No blood, though. He is encouraged by the fact that he doesn't really have a headache, either. The point of impact hurts, but he doesn't seem to be phased in any other way.

Tom then looks over at Nadia and eyes her down. "Did he hurt you?" Nadia looks at Tom and shakes her head. "One of his gunmen injected me with something that knocked me out for a while."

Tom now starts examining his surroundings. They're sitting on the floor in an empty room, with two small windows off to the right near the ceiling. Looks like this room could be used for an office.

Tom notices that it's still nighttime. "Any idea how long we've been here?" Nadia shakes her head. "No. I have no idea how long I was out. Last thing I remember was gunmen interrupting the party as I was talking with Cesar...then a needle being stuck in my neck. They apparently just threw me on top of you, because that's where I was when I woke up just a bit ago."

Tom grabs Nadia's arms and looks for any blood or scratches. "You don't appear to be cut up any. Maybe he's preserving our heads for his wall." Nadia thinks Tom was trying to be funny, but doesn't catch the humor. "Tom, that's just gross. He's very aggressive, but he's not like that."

Tom chuckles, then says "Well, you didn't hear the conversation we had. He apparently sees me like a trophy buck. And he also said he was going to kill you when he killed me."

Nadia nods her head. "I know. I figured he would." Tom shifts a bit so he can look at Nadia without turning his head. "Why?"

Nadia turns to Tom with a worried look on her face and starts to speak.

(_Note: At this point, we get the whole sad life story of Nadia at once, instead of in segments like we saw in the actual episode_.)

Nadia finishes her story. Tom just slinks back against the wall. "Wow...just when I thought your childhood and young adult life couldn't be more depressing." Nadia looks at him curiously. "I thought you would be angry with me."

Tom gives her a confused look. "Why would I be angry with you?" Nadia sighs and, with a look of remorse, says "Because I didn't inform anyone about my prior relationship with Cesar. He's from a part of my past that I just wanted to bury deep inside of me, never to be seen again. Instead, we're here, and I'm pretty sure he going to kill us. I should have called for us to abort instead of sending you in like that. Cesar is a very violent man, and I feared something like this could have happened."

Tom gives Nadia a faint smile and touches her face lightly. "Remember after our mission in Monte Carlo, when I was talking about calculated risk?" Nadia nods. Tom continues. "We made one. It appeared that he was alone, and you were confident that you could distract him. Unfortunately, with calculated risks, sometimes something gets lost in the calculation, and we're put in situations like this."

Tom then leans in closely to Nadia's face. "But what if...what if, me and you are meant for something greater than to simply die in an empty office in Minsk? What if, whatever these...anomalies are that are flowing through our veins, are a sign of something to come?" Nadia doesn't seem to be sold by Tom's speech so far. "Tom, what are you saying?"

A very motivated Tom says "It was by chance we met in the first place. It was by chance that you saved my life. And after my experiment, after all that I went through...I somehow survived and was allowed to endure on this earth for a little longer. Why? What do I have to offer anymore? I had everything ripped away from me, and yet...chance puts us together once again. We both sought something greater than what we were presented in our childhood, and I believe we both have found what it was we are seeking...we found each other. And whether our love is real, or whether it's artificial...I don't care. I love you. And THAT...THAT feels more real to me than anything I've ever felt in my life. It's as real as this room, this floor, this air...and I believe we're together to satisfy some sort of purpose, a purpose that we'll face together. And there is no one else on this earth I'd rather face whatever it is we're going to face than you. Nadia...this is not the end." During his speech, Nadia started shedding a couple tears, touched at what Tom has had to say. She leans in and gives Tom a kiss.

But just as she does, Cesar walks in the door, forcing them to break the tender moment. He gives them a look of complete shock. "Nadia and the Devil...I have seen it all..." Nadia looks at Tom, wondering why he just called him "the Devil".

Tom just looks at him with a look of defiance. "I understand you two had a little thing, but apparently you valued glory over love. It's a shame, she's a great gal. You should have kept her." Cesar starts laughing. "And how could I love the woman who killed Roberto Fox, the ONLY man who gave a damn about me growing up!"

Tom then stands up quickly and starts walking towards Cesar. Cesar draws his gun quickly and Tom stops about a foot in front of the gun. "Nadia told me the story. Roberto did not have your best interests in heart. He was only out for himself. Just like you are. The fact that you're opportunistic and ruthless...that doesn't impress me. I've been there and done that. But, I pity you. I pity you because for all you've gained, you're alone. You have no foundation to stand on. And ruthless people like us eventually get what's coming to them. I know it happened to me all at once, and I have a feeling your lucky streak is about to come to an end. And believe me, Cesar, when it all comes crashing down on you, you won't be lucky enough to have someone like Nadia in your life to break your fall. You'll die alone...and no one will care. All your legend, your glory...will become worthless in a split second."

Cesar then gets tired of Tom's talking and gives him a hard-boot to the stomach, pushing him back to the wall. Tom's back smacks into the wall as he falls to the ground. As Tom tries to gain his bearings again, Cesar walks up and points his gun just outside of arms length from his head. "Oh, but you're so wrong! My legend is going to skyrocket after tonight! I'll be known as the man that killed Roberto Fox...and now, I will be known as the man that killed Halcón Diablo, the terror of the Latin American gang community..."

Cesar pulls back the hammer quickly. Noticing, Tom makes a futile move, holding his right arm out in front of the barrel. Nadia makes one final plea. "Cesar, DON'T!"

Too late. Cesar pulls the trigger. Immediately after the "pow!" of the gun, a loud "PLINK!" is heard. Tom collapses.

Nadia had covered her face in terror. When she lowered her arms, he saw Tom squirming and yelling in pain on the ground, holding his right hand. Nadia's first thought was _"He's still alive..."_

But then, Nadia looked up at Cesar...and looked completely shocked at what she was seeing.

Tom eventually settles down and examines his hand. A big, red, bloody spot had formed in his palm. A few seconds of further examination revealed a blood-filled hole in his skin on the lower portion of his palm.

Tom looked over at Nadia, who was looking in complete astonishment at Cesar. Taking his cue, Tom looked up at a now stunned Cesar...and immediately realizes what Nadia was looking at.

The bullet that was intended for Tom's forehead...had ended up in Cesar's.

Amidst the pain, Tom's jaw drops. He knew immediately what had happened, and he knew how it happened. And at this point, all he was concerned about was how he was going to cover this up.

Meanwhile, Cesar, his life escaping from his body, looks down at Tom. Now staggering around, Cesar asks Tom, with all the voice he could muster "How...?" He can't complete the sentence. He falls over on the ground...dead.

Tom and Nadia continue to look at Cesar, still in stunned silence. Nadia then looks over at Tom, who has gone back to looking at his hand. Tom is relieved a bit to see that much of the initial stinging pain is starting to subside. But concern grows in him, as he's not finding any way he can cover up what just happened.

Suddenly, he's startled by Nadia asking "How did you do that?" Tom looks at her with a combination of a worried and shocked look on his face, then he looks back at his hand, then closes his eyes.

The shock and the pain is gone. The worry is taking over in his body.

Suddenly, Tom springs up and starts patting down Cesar's body. He reaches into a pocket and finds a cell phone and tosses it to Nadia. "Call APO, let them know we're alive! My guess is that the other gunmen are gone...surely, they would have heard the gunfire."

Nadia looks at Tom, still wondering what just happened. "What do I say?" Tom pulls out the amplifying glass from another one of Cesar's pockets and holds it up to Nadia with his bloody right hand. "You can tell them we got the amplifying glass, Cesar is dead, and we need to get out of here!"

Nadia dials a number and holds the phone to her ear. On the other end, Jack picks up. "Who is this?" Nadia, a little exasperated, says "Jack! It's Nadia!" A frantic Jack asks "Nadia, where are you?" Nadia quickly replies "Tom was made, Cesar had some sort of feud with him that Tom didn't know about. He captured us both, but we're escaping! We have the glass and Cesar is dead! I'm fine, but Tom took a bullet to the hand..." Tom looks at her with bulging eyes and starts yelling "I'm fine!" Nadia gets the message. "Tom says he's fine."

Jack says "Vaughn and Sydney are en route there, they should be there any minute. They're parking a helicopter right outside of the building, meet them out in front. Is there any other of Cesar's henchmen there?" Nadia says "I don't think so, otherwise they would have been here by now! But, I don't know where we are in the building!"

Jack looks down at Marshall, who is triangulating the cell signal in his computer. He has the exact location of the cell phone on his screen, which is located inside the Institute building. Marshall motions for Jack to hand him the phone, which he does. "Nadia, it's Marshall." Nadia is now surprised to hear Marshall's voice. "Marshall, where are we?" Marshall says "When you exit the door, run down to the right, go to the end of the hallway, go left, then make a quick right and you'll be at the entrance."

Nadia nods and says "Tell Vaughn and Sydney we'll be outside." Marshall says "They should be landing by the time you exit. They're almost there. Good luck." Nadia says "Thanks" and hangs up. He observes Tom finishing his pat down of Cesar. Tom then looks at her. "What did Jack have to say?"

Nadia replies "Vaughn and Sydney will be here any second! We have to leave!" Tom nods his head. "Couldn't have said it better myself!" Tom and Nadia then get to their feet. Tom grabs Cesar's gun that is sitting next to Cesar's head. However, Nadia immediately grabs it from Tom. "Tom, you can't hold it with your hand like that."

Tom looks at his hand a bit, then nods. "Hopefully, the cavalry won't be waiting for us when we open that door. Either way, you take the lead." Nadia nods and runs towards the door to the office. Tom follows her to the door.

Tom and Nadia leave their empty office and run down the hallways as Marshall instructed. They meet no resistance as they get to the entrance of the place.

_**Outside The Institute**_

* * *

><p>Tom and Nadia run through the now-empty plaza and head towards the area where they first entered. As they get there, they see Sydney and Vaughn's plane landing in the distance.<p>

Tom and Nadia start waving their hands and eventually, they see the side door of the helicopter open. They take their cue and break for the helicopter. Nadia gets in first, followed by Tom, who quickly slams the door shut and tells Vaughn, who is flying the plane, to take off.

The helicopter lifts off and the team flies away.

Back in the helicopter, Sydney turns and looks back at Nadia and Tom from the passenger's seat in front. "Are you two ok?" Tom is staring at his hand, which is now a real bloody mess. He doesn't say anything as he continues to fear over the fallout of what just happened. Nadia speaks for him. "We're ok. We got the glass. Cesar is dead because of Tom." Sydney looks over at Tom, then down at Tom's hand. "Oh my goodness..."

Sydney turns back around and reaches for a first aid kit. She grabs a bottle of rubbing alcohol, clean rag, some gauze pads, and tape. Sydney turns around and hands them to Nadia. "Can you clean that wound?" Nadia nods, then says "Tom, let me see your hand."

Tom then looks at Nadia with a look of fear and trepidation in his face, a look that really alarms Nadia. This isn't like him. "Tom...what is it?" Tom then looks down, then turns and reluctantly extends his hand out to Nadia.

Immediately, Nadia goes to work, wiping away the excess blood that is all over his hand and a part of his arm. Nadia then starts wiping around the wound itself and immediately notices something. "A piece of the bullet that hit Cesar in the head must have broken off in your hand..." Sydney now looks at her suspiciously. "How is that possible?"

Tom lets out a pained sigh and looks at her. With his voice quivering out of fear, he says "Because...Cesar shot at me...and I blocked the bullet with my hand." Sydney's jaw drops. "How is that possible?"

Before Tom can answer, Nadia turns to Sydney and says "Sydney, I need some pliers!" Immediately, Tom yells out "NO! DON'T!" Nadia turns to Tom quickly. "I need to get that bullet fragment out..."

Tom shakes his head slowly. "That's not a bullet fragment." Nadia looks down at the hand. "But Tom, I'm seeing a piece of metal in your hand!" Tom just blankly replies "Because that IS my hand." With a look of shock, she looks up Tom, who now has his eyes closed and a tear has just streamed down his face from his right eye. Sydney asks "Tom, was this from the experiment?"

After a few seconds, Tom finally opens his watery eyes and looks at Nadia, then at Sydney with extreme sorrow in his face. With a pained voice, he says "Since I joined APO, I've worked so hard to keep this hidden. Nadia saw the scar on my arm and on the back of my neck, and Sydney, you saw the scar on my hand. And now...you've seen a part of what I've been hiding under those scars."

Tom then buries his head into his left hand. Nadia and Sydney notice that he's taking this really hard. Before one of them can speak up, Tom continues. "I always feared this day would come, the day where I would have to reveal all of this to you. I've never been so afraid of anything in my life, because I realize that what I have to tell you...could have drastically change your opinion of me. Not just because of the experiment, but also for what I did right before it happened. I can't tell one story without telling the other."

Seeing Tom is really struggling, Nadia reaches over and puts her hand on Tom's knee. "It's ok. We're here for you." Tom removes his head from his hand and looks at Nadia, then looks over at Sydney, who nods her head reassuringly. Tom nods his head. "It's a little noisy on this helicopter...I'll tell the three of you on the plane ride back...I'll tell you all everything." Tom then looks over at Nadia. "Could you clean my wound, please?"

Nadia gives him a faint smile and goes back to work on his hand. Tom stares out the window behind Nadia, fearful for the conversation that is about to come.

He's got a sinking feeling that the secrets he's about to reveal could be the end of him in APO...and the end of his reputation with Nadia and Sydney.

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	11. Ch 10: The Orphan & The Devil Part 2

**THE ORPHAN AND THE DEVIL PART 2**

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 12_

_Warning: This chapter is pretty long too._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere over the Atlantic<strong>_

We zoom in on Tom's right palm, which is being stitched up by someone. We see that whoever is doing the stitching is on stitch #4 of the bullet wound that Tom just suffered earlier that night.

The person finishes up the stitch, then places a small gauze pad over the wound and tapes it tight to Tom's hand. We scan back a bit to see Tom in a navy blue t-shirt and white khaki shorts, sitting at a small two-person table against the airplane wall. The ghastly scar is very noticeable on his right arm, running up it almost like a long, red ditch on his light-complexion.

Sitting directly across from him is Nadia, who is also wearing a navy blue t-shirt to go along with athletic shorts. She's cleaning up the medical supplies she just used.

Tom holds up the hand and smiles. "You do a good field dressing, Nadia." As she finishes her cleaning, she says "Thanks, I've done a few before, including a couple to myself."

Tom winces a bit. "Ouch! When?" Nadia smirks and points to her right shoulder as she looks back at Tom. "The first time was when I cut myself on razor wire when I was 18 and living on the street in Argentina. That's how I learned."

Tom smirks and shakes his head at the thought of that and looks back down at his hand. A fearful look takes over on his face. After a few seconds, he lets out a nervous sigh. "Nadia, I'm so scared..." Nadia has noticed that Tom has been consumed by fear since Cesar's bullet bounced off his hand and this has her concerned. "Tom, I've never seen you like this before. It's going to be ok."

Tom, still looking at his hand, shakes his head. "What I'm about to talk about was very traumatic for me, and left me forever changed." Tom then looks back up. "You have to make up your own mind, but all I ask is that you please...please don't think any less of me as a human being after I'm done with this."

Nadia gives Tom a sincere, yet intent look. "Tom, when I told you about my life, all of the crimes, the arrests...then killing Fox...you chose not to judge me based on that. You continue to love me, even though I've done things I'm not proud of, either." Tom sighs and looks down at the table. "I felt pity for you. I understand what you went through. But Nadia..." Tom then looks back up at Nadia again with a somber look. "...what I did was something I've never forgiven myself for."

Nadia then stands up. "Come on, you'll feel better after you tell us. And I'll be objective, no matter what you have to say." Tom nods, stands up, and just says "Thank you."

Nadia and Tom walk across the plane, where Vaughn and Sydney are sitting together. Nadia sits in an airplane chair across from Sydney on the window-side, leaving a seat for Tom across from Vaughn. However, Tom chooses not to sit.

He closes his eyes and sighs, trying to compose himself. Sydney, noticing Tom's consternation, says "I understand what you have to say is going to be difficult. Take all the time you need."

Tom then opens his eyes and looks at Sydney. With a low, humble voice, he says "Thank you. First of all, and I just got done saying this to Nadia, all I can do is hope that you all don't view me as any less of a human being after what I have to say. But if you do, I understand." Vaughn shifts in his chair a bit. "Why would we think that?"

Tom quickly replies "Because you'll either view me as a man with a handicap or as a rotten human being. Or both." Vaughn nods his head, but doesn't say anything.

Tom decides it's time to press on. "The first thing I want to talk about is my medical condition. That very condition allowed a bullet shot from Cesar Martinez's gun to bounce off my hand and end up in his forehead. However, you know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words...so before I explain it, it'd be best if I showed you it first."

With that, Tom turns around, with his back towards Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia. He holds his head up and looks towards the ceiling. _"This is it"_ he thinks. Then, he takes a deep breath, then reaches and grabs the collar of his shirt, bends over, and pulls his t-shirt off.

Vaughn's jaw drops a bit. Sydney and Nadia's eyes bulge at what they're seeing on Tom's back.

They're seeing a nasty-looking red scar in the shape of an I on his back, with a scar going from shoulder to shoulder and another from one side of the hip to the other. The I is completed with a scar going straight up the back along the spine. There's also a little stem that extends from the top of the I up to the back of Tom's neck, disappearing in Tom's hair. We also see the entire scar that runs down Tom's right arm, as that side is facing them.

After a few seconds, Tom turns around to reveal a new set of nasty scars on the front side of his body. These scars are in the shape of a C, with a scar going from his left shoulder, across his collarbone, and ending at his right shoulder, then cutting down the side of his body and ending at the hip. From the right hip, it cuts across his body and ends at the side of his left hip.

Tom sees the look that's on the faces of his three companions, and he's not the least bit surprised. Blankly, he asks "Is it ok to put on my shirt now?" The three of them just nod, not saying anything. Tom throws on his shirt quickly. Nadia, with a look of horror on her face, asks "My God...what happened to you?"

Tom looks at her and blankly replies "The Covenant happened." Sydney leans forward, her eyes perked at the mention of the Covenant. "The Covenant did all that to you?"

Tom lightly nods. "Yup, this is their handiwork. I was their first successful patient of Project Alloy." Vaughn, still a little stunned at Tom's scars from earlier, asks "What's Project Alloy?"

Tom turns around and finds a basic chair. He grabs it and sets it at the end of the seats that Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia are at and takes a seat. "Project Alloy is a procedure where your skeletal system is yanked out, and replaced with titanium replicas. All of my bones in my upper body between my head and hips and my right arm are now made by the same material they put in Tiger Woods' golf clubs."

Nadia shakes her head and has a mortified look on her face. "The pain this must have caused...how did you survive the surgery?" Tom leans his head back and looks at the ceiling, shaking his head. "I've been asking myself that same question every single day since I woke up from the operation." Tom looks back down at Nadia. "I have yet to figure that one out."

Vaughn quick-fires another question. "If you don't have your real spine back there, how are you able to walk?" Tom nods and says "I don't understand all of it, but the doctor that worked on me somehow worked it so my metal spine functions like my regular spine. But, there were still some neurological hurdles to deal with. Up until about a month or so before I joined APO, I was still having some coordination issues with walking and running. Those neurological issues are the main reason why I'm not a full field agent. However, I haven't had any issues since joining APO."

Sydney says "Your motor skills are keeping you from being a field agent?" Tom quickly replies "Yes and no. I still had full control over my arms and hands, but the legs were the issue. But, when I was offered the job here in APO, the CIA still had concerns about my legs. They also believe that, at some point during the surgery, the doctor accidentally bumped my brain pretty hard. They're worried about the possibility of blackouts or a hard blow to the head easily giving me a concussion."

Nadia quickly says "You said you got hit on the head by one of Cesar's men. How do you feel now?" Tom feels the back of his head. "I still have a lump on the back of the head, but I have no headaches, no blurred or double-vision...nothing. And I have yet to randomly black-out like they were worried about. When I get back, I have to get tested right away. It's a condition of my employment in the CIA, because they're still wanting to know more about my condition. My left arm, which is real, gets a little achy where it connects with my metal shoulder after I do something strenuous with it, but besides that, I'm physically fine."

After a bit of silence, Sydney then says "Tom, I would have not guessed you went through all that. Outside of the scars...I probably would never have had any idea what happened to you." Vaughn nods. "I agree. In fact, were it me, I'd be pretty mad at the Covenant. I'd find that anger hard to hide." Tom shakes his head. "I've come to grips with what they did to me. In fact, I'm actually thankful. Because, without this procedure, I'd be a paraplegic, and I wouldn't be having this conversation with you now."

Tom then closes his eyes and hangs his head. "And this is the part that is difficult for me to talk about." Nadia looks troubled again at seeing Tom so down. "It's ok, we're here for you."

Tom, with his head still hung, says "I was the leader of a tactical team called Storm Crew. Myself, Mike Walcott, and Chris Cooper, two of my real good friends from the Anti-Cartel, were recruited by Dark Cover to get the team going. Our first addition was an op-tech named David Marston, a young single father that was facing a prison sentence for hacking into the FBI database. Instead of prison, we got him a job, and he proved to be invaluable. We also added Mitch Hayes, my mentor in the Anti-Cartel who was working at a desk at Langley when I brought him on...long story there. The remaining 5 spots on the team we handpicked ourselves."

Tom pauses for a moment, takes a deep breath, then continues. "Flash forward to June 6th, 2003. James Lennox, my former boss, had received intel that the doctor that was heading Project Alloy was found to be working in an old building in Torino, Italy. Our whole team was to be sent to infiltrate the place. Mitch was not invited at first because we suspected him to be a rat for leading us into a death trap a couple months earlier in Cordoba, Spain...along with other reasons. However, I let him tag along with us after Mike was tasked with something else the day of the mission."

Vaughn tilts his head. "If you thought the guy was a rat, why did you take him along?" Tom looks at Vaughn with an angry look. "Because I wanted to see if this guy would try to run to the protective arms of the Covenant. He was worthless to them if he wasn't within earshot of me. Or, on the alternative, I wanted to see if he'd eat a bullet during the mission. Bottom line, my hate for the man clouded my judgment. I just wanted him gone and out of my sight...seeing him at work every day, knowing that he betrayed me and the team...it was starting to make me physically sick."

Nadia then asks "So, what happened in Torino?" Tom chuckles. "Well, I was right. Mitch ate a bullet early in the mission, courtesy of the Covenant. I'm not sure why or how it happened because I was elsewhere in the building, but my guess was he was running. Even though I considered him a friend and mentor, I was 100% sure he was a rat, so I wasn't the least bit sad at his loss. Anyway, more on him later. By the time he was killed, I had proceed up to the third floor while the rest of the team handled the Covenant forces that were set up on the 2nd floor. I get to the main room in the 3rd floor...and it's this HUGE room, about three stories high, with these old stone pillars holding up the roof. And right smack-dab in the middle of the room is our doctor...or so I thought. But something didn't seem right. The room was different than what was presented in the schematics."

Tom then lowers his head and shakes his head. "Then I ignored my gut instinct. A quick scan of the room revealed no traps, and I decided to proceed. I starting running across the room. And that is when I made the worst mistake of my life." Tom then puts his head in his hands. He doesn't say anything for a few seconds as he tries to compose himself for the really hard part. Sydney, in a somber tone, asks "Tom...what happened?"

Tom pulls his head away from his hands. His eyes watery, he says "I didn't see a clear wire that had been strung across between two pillars. I tripped over the wire...and the wire triggered two explosions. One to the right, and the other to the front. The doctor died, but as it turns out, he was just a Project Helix clone. I hit the deck and saw that the roof was caving in, so I just braced myself for my death. A few seconds later...a stone pillar from off to the right comes crashing down on my right arm and back, smashing them to bits. I passed out from the pain shortly after. Over the course of the next month, I only woke up once, and that was during the surgery...when I got to get a good look at my guts and my skin folded open like a book. I had never felt such pain in my life."

Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia all wince a bit at the thought of that. After a while, Nadia asks "How did you escape from the Covenant? Or did they just let you go?" Tom thinks for a bit, then says "After I woke up for good, they tried to brainwash me into becoming a Covenant agent."

Sydney raises an eyebrow. "You too?" Tom looks at her and nods. "Yeah, and they used the same tactics they used on you...neurotoxin and old family videos. Only with me, the neurotoxin was worthless." Sydney, a little surprised, asks "How come?" Tom shrugs. "I never found out why. I'm guessing I wasn't wired right after the surgery. Anyway, after a few days, I make my big escape and make contact with Dark Cover. James came down to debrief me and take me back to Baltimore...and that's when I learned a horrible truth."

Tom then starts openly weeping. His head quickly goes back into his hands. He doesn't want to have them see him like this, but he can't help it. Nadia slides over to the empty seat next to Tom and puts an arm around him. Tom notices, but doesn't break what he's doing.

Finally, after a few seconds, he raises his head back up. "I had learned that I had gotten my team killed. All six of my teammates were either blown up or crushed by the building falling on them." Tom starts sobbing again. "All because of a STUPID mistake a child would make!" Tom then composes himself again after a few seconds. "Those men...those were my friends. We became more than co-workers because of something my old Anti-Cartel director told me: 'It's easier to have the back of a friend than a co-worker.' And in the two years we worked together, I had gotten to know them all as my friends. I knew their wives, their girlfriends, their children...I can still see their faces...and I took away the men in their lives...with one...STUPID mistake! My team looked up to me to lead them safely in and out of our missions, and I had NEVER even tested their confidence in me. Not once. And I rewarded their loyalty and faith by killing them."

Tom buries his head back in his hands. Nadia, who still has her arm around Tom, looks at Sydney, who looks troubled over what she just heard. She then looks over at Vaughn, who has a sad look on his face. Nadia then looks back at Tom, who's just a basketcase right now. "Tom, I hate to ask this, especially now..." Tom just keeps his head buried in his hands. Nadia continues. "But during our last mission, Cesar kept calling you 'the Devil' or 'Halcón Diablo'...the Falcon Devil. What did he mean by that?"

Tom slides his head down, his forehead now leaning on his hands and facing the ground. "Halcón Diablo was a nickname that Latin American gangs would call me. I had that nickname because some people really thought I was the devil. I was a ruthless man in the Anti-Cartel. I did so many unspeakable things to so many people...and I think what happened to me at Torino, and afterwards, was my punishment for that. It wasn't hard being Tom Falk before June 6th, 2003. I had gotten away with so much, without even a hint of backlash. And it all came crashing down on me in one fell swoop."

Tom then looks back up and looks at Nadia with an extremely pained look on his face. He realizes he needs to change the subject quickly. "Remember a couple weeks ago, during my suspension, when I went to Baltimore? The day Anna kidnapped you, then later shot you?" Nadia nods her head. Tom continues. "I went to Baltimore to visit the graves of those friends. I went to their graves to do the same thing that I did every...single...day since I returned to Baltimore after my procedure. I went there to beg for forgiveness. And to this day, I still haven't received an answer, and I don't think I will until the day I leave this earth. And until that day comes, I still have to live with their blood on my hands and the scars on my body; a constant reminder of the man I was, and of the men I got killed in Torino."

Sydney then cuts off Tom's train of thought. "Tom, I'm not sure if this will mean much, but what happened to your friends reminds me of something I went through years back." Tom looks at her with a look of surprise. "You got a group of good people killed, too?" Sydney nods her head slowly. "Yes. I had just become a double agent for the CIA, working against SD-6. I went on a mission with Dixon in Badenweiler, Germany. I was to retrieve an inhaler, then Sloane ordered me to blow up the facility so no one else could get the vaccine. However, I was to give a group of CIA agents some time to switch inhalers and disable the explosives so they could get the vaccine later. Well, I disabled one detonator, but Dixon had a backup and blew up the building while the agents were still in it." (_Note: If you want to reference this, look up Season 1, Episode 5 and the very beginning of Episode 6)_

Sydney then hangs her head, which Tom notices. "You must have been devastated." Sydney nods her head. "I felt as responsible for their lives as you did. They trusted me, and I had let them down. Vaughn knows...I was pretty tore up after that." Tom scans over to Vaughn, who nods his head. "She took it hard. But...like I told her then, there was no way of knowing what would have happened."

Tom shakes his head. "But Sydney didn't have any control over the second detonator...but I...I could have walked away! So what if I turned out to be wrong, my team would have lived to fight another day!" Vaughn shakes his head. "You made a judgment call. You assessed the situation, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. You couldn't have envisioned what would have happened."

Sydney then says "And it's not like you willingly killed your friends. You had the best of intentions, just like I did." Tom lets that comment sink in a bit, then just nods, acknowledging Vaughn and Sydney's rationale. He then continues. "Anyway, the CIA officially blames the whole ordeal on Mitch's treachery. The day of the mission, the CIA anonymously gets a packet of information detailing Mitch's dealings with the Covenant. Phone records, transcripts...he had his dirty meat hooks into us for a year and a half. But, there was one more cut on my psyche yet to be made."

Tom hangs his head again. "The CIA had presumed me dead. I was gone for over a month after the mission. When I came back, I had learned they informed my wife that I was CIA for the past 12 years. My wife never knew about my CIA career, she had always thought I was an undercover cop. I was a cop in our small-town in Missouri after I graduated high school, and when I joined the Anti-Cartel, I told her I had joined the LAPD, then the Baltimore PD when I got the Dark Cover job. That was my cover. But, when I returned home, after I learned that she knew about me, she tore me a new one. She told me she was cheating on me for a while, that she was 4 months pregnant with a child that wasn't mine, even though she said it was before the mission..."

Nadia immediately says "Oh no..." Tom looks at her and nods sheepishly. "Yeah. That child was one of the things that motivated me to escape from the Covenant. I wanted to be a father to that kid. But, I guess it was not to be. Anyway, she also informed me that she was breaking up with me and going to live with that kid's father. I begged her to stay and I showed her my scars. Instead, she told me that not only could she not live with a liar...she could not live with a freak. That was the last thing she ever said to me."

Nadia grabs Tom's right hand hard, partly out of comfort but also out of surprise anger. "You're not a freak! How could she say that?" Tom looks at her and smiles. "I know...and thanks for not thinking of me as a freak. You may not realize it, but that means a lot to me." Tom then looks back at Sydney and Vaughn. "What she told me was a big reason I didn't tell you guys all of this before. I didn't want my condition and the incident in Torino to define who I am with you guys. I didn't want to be viewed as a 'freak' or as some guy with a handicap, and I didn't want to be viewed as an awful human being who gets his friends killed. Before I go to bed, I'm going to give Director Chase a call. We both mutually agreed to keep my condition and the Torino mission details a secret. Well, I was recently informed by Marshall that Sloane sent a request to get access to these records. And I'm going to let him have it. What scared me the most about revealing this is...being with this division, with you guys...with Nadia...for the first time since Torino, I can smile at the face I see in the mirror, and I don't want to lose that. I don't want to leave you guys. But, I have a feeling Sloane is going to push for my termination or reassignment."

Right after he says that, Sydney chimes in. "You still have me in your corner. If Sloane's going to try to get rid of you, I'll have your back." Vaughn nods his head affirmatively. "Same here. You're still good in my book." Tom seems touched by the sudden outpouring of support. He then looks over at Nadia, who has a reassuring look on her face. She tells him "I'll always have your back, because I know you'll always have mine."

Tom smiles at Nadia, then stands up. "Thank you for hearing me out, and thank you so much for not thinking any less of me. This really means a lot to me. Now, if you guys don't have anything else, I'm going to contact Director Chase, and then get some sleep." Sydney quickly says "Yeah, we all should be getting some sleep, actually. It's been a long day. We still have a few hours before we get to LA." Vaughn says "You and Nadia can take the two twin beds in the backroom, we'll sleep out here." Tom nods his head and says "Thanks. Good night, everyone." Vaughn, Nadia, and Sydney all say "good night."

Tom turns and walks into another room on the plane, which has the two beds that Vaughn mentioned. He sits on the edge of the bed on the right and picks up the phone on the small table against the wall. He quickly punches in a number.

On the other end, Director Chase picks up her cell phone. "Hello, who is this?" Tom says "It's Tom Falk, from APO." Chase, a little irritated, says "Why are you calling me this time of night?" Tom quickly replies "Because we need to talk about my Project Alloy and Torino records."

Chase sighs. "Tom, Sloane put in a request to view them. I'm informing him first thing in the morning that those records are top secret and in no way, can he..." Tom intently says "No. Let him see them. Make them available to Jack and Sloane. It's time they know."

Chase gets a little flustered. "Tom, we both agreed that keeping these a secret was the best way to handle it." Tom quick-fires "Chase, tonight in Minsk, I killed a man by blocking a bullet with my right palm and having it ricochet into his forehead. I can't hide that in a debrief. Bullets aren't supposed to work like that. Now, I just got done giving Nadia, Sydney, and Vaughn the details, so the cat is out of the bag. It's time."

Chase lets out a loud sigh. Then, she nods her head. "You're right, Sloane and Jack need to know now. I'll arrange a briefing during the day tomorrow with Sloane and Jack Bristow so I can fill them in and discuss where we go from here. In the meantime, were you injured?" Tom says "Nadia patched up my hand, and I got hit in the head with what I think was a lead pipe."

Chase immediately fires back "You need to report to our doctors as SOON as possible..." Tom cuts her off. "I know, I know. That's another reason I'm calling, so you can get a heads up that I'll be checked out. But, I'm not feeling any adverse effects. I was unconscious for a little while, but I don't think it was long. Physically, I'm fine."

Chase nods. "Good. I'm also going to put you through some testing while you're with the doctors tomorrow. We need to know where you stand physically with your condition, and I think Sloane and Jack would like to know as well. Also, as I'm sure Jack has told you, we found some things in your and Nadia's blood that we want to examine a little further, so we'll take care of that tomorrow. Afterwards, you can take the rest of the day off. I'll brief with Sloane and Jack, and you'll know the next day where you and we stand." Tom nods. "That's fine. Anything else?" Chase says "No. Have a good night". Tom says "You too".

Tom hangs up his phone and lies down on his bed, reflecting on the events in the past hour or so. As he recalls the conversation he just had with Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia, there's only one conclusion he comes to.

To no one in particular, he utters "It's good to have friends like these."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment, the next day<strong>_

Tom stands outside of Sydney's door, still in his business suit and holding a small backpack as well as two zipped-up hangers. He sets down his backpack and knocks on the door.

Sydney answers the door smiling. "Hey! Oh, let me get that!" Sydney reaches down for Tom's backpack, but Tom cuts her off. "Nah, I can get it...you can carry this, though..." Tom hands Sydney one of the hangers. "I've been meaning to bring those over. Those are my emergency clothes in case I crash here and APO suddenly calls us."

Sydney's eyes perk up a bit. "Oh! Yeah, good idea! I mean, I wouldn't want to see you in Weiss's clothes again!" Tom laughs a bit. "Yeah, that was not a fun morning. Anyway, I've seen Nadia's closet and I don't think there's any way I can fit these in there, even after she moved some of her stuff over to my place. I was hoping you could find a spot for these somewhere."

Sydney laughs a bit. "Sure! I'll just put it in the hall closet. Come on in!" Tom grabs his backpack and walks on in. Tom walks down the steps leading to the kitchen. Sydney, following him, says "You can set those in Nadia's room, she's taking a shower right now."

Tom walks into Nadia's room and sets the luggage on the floor next to the bed. He walks over to a coat-rack and hangs his other set of work clothes on the rack.

Tom walks back out and sees Sydney working on dinner. "You need any help?" Sydney, as she's stirring something in a pot, says "You can set the table if you want."

Tom walks over to a cabinet next to Sydney and grabs some plates. He sets the plates on the counter and starts to grab some silverware. "Thanks for letting me eat dinner and stay the night here tonight." Sydney looks at him with a dismissive look. "You're always welcome here, you know that."

Tom looks down at the ground. "I know...I'm just glad I'm still welcome here after what I said on the way back from Minsk." Sydney stops what she's doing. "You know, you talked last night about your condition not 'defining' you and making you seem like less of a person to us. Tom, you couldn't be more far off from the truth if you think that those things define you to me, Vaughn, and Nadia."

Tom leans on the counter casually. "What does define me to you, Sydney?" Sydney says "Well, your complete devotion to Nadia, for one. You go so far out of your way to make her feel loved and appreciated." Tom gives Sydney a faint smile. "I still owe her a lifedebt after the mission we were in in 2001. Plus, with all she's been through in her life, she deserves to feel loved and appreciated."

Sydney nods in the affirmative. "I know. I'm glad you're in her life. Also, there is something else that defines you...and a lot of people can try to take credit for this, but few actually can." Tom stirs a bit. "This should be interesting..." Sydney, unfazed, says "You stand up for what you believe in, and you stand up for the people you believe in...even if it means exploding in Sloane's face defending them!"

The two share a laugh at that. After a few seconds, Sydney goes back to making dinner while Tom starts setting plates on the table.

As he arranges the plates and silverware, he hears a shriek from his left. He looks over and sees Nadia standing in just a bath towel, shocked that he's there. In her shock, she exclaims "I thought you were coming later!" Tom just stands there and smiles. "Hello to you too, beautiful! I thought I'd see if Sydney needed any help with dinner since I got done early with my testing."

From the kitchen, Sydney asks "Oh, I meant to ask you about that. How did it go?" Tom starts to speak, but Nadia says "Wait! We can talk about it over dinner..." Nadia then turns to Tom with a look of mock outrage. "...after I get some CLOTHES on!" Tom shrugs. "I think you look good! You stay like that, and I'll put on those glasses I wore in Minsk!" Nadia just lets out a "grrr!" and stomps by Tom, still embarrassed that he's seeing her like this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment, a half hour later<strong>_

A now-clothed Nadia sits to the right of Tom at the dinner table. Sydney is seated at the head of the table to the left of Tom. All three are enjoying spaghetti, especially Tom, who looks over at Sydney and says "Great job in the spaghetti! I haven't eaten all day, and this just hits the spot!" Sydney smiles and says "Thanks! Believe it or not, my dad taught me how to make it."

Tom raises an eyebrow. "Jack cooks?" Sydney nods quickly. "Yeah, he's really good, actually!" Tom laughs. "Let me guess, he pays attention to detail!" Sydney laughs back. "Yes, right down to the minute!"

Nadia finishes her bite of spaghetti and asks Tom "So, how did it go today with the testing?" Tom just shrugs a bit. "Alright, I guess. They ran a lot of physical tests on me, testing my reflexes. They also ran a CAT scan on me, x-rays, blood tests..." Nadia leans in after he says that last part and whispers in Tom's ear "For our 'connection', right?" Tom looks at her and nods. "Right."

Sydney apparently heard Nadia's whispering. "What connection?" Tom and Nadia both look over at Sydney surprised. Nadia audibly drops her fork. Tom gently sets his down and looks at Nadia. "Maybe we should tell her, it can't hurt." Nadia looks at Tom a little curiously. Sydney, meanwhile, leans forward, intrigued. "Ok guys, what is it?"

Nadia looks back over at Sydney, still somewhat concerned. "This doesn't leave the table, ok?" Sydney nods her head. "Of course." Nadia wipes off her mouth, as a precaution, and says "Jack called us into his office a few weeks ago. Apparently, there's some anomalies that are in both of our bloodstreams. One is naturally produced by our body, but they're not sure of its purpose. The other they suspect is a Rambaldi device."

Sydney's eyes widen. "What? What would Rambaldi want with Tom?" Tom slaps his hand on the table. "I know, right? That's what I said!" Nadia says "Well, they say that this possible Rambaldi device interacts with our pheromones and apparently 'connects' us. Being near each other triggers it."

Sydney laughs and folds her arms. "So, that's why you two are like high school lovebirds around each other!" Tom smiles and shrugs. "I was worried for a while after Jack told us about these anomalies that what we had wasn't real...but like I told Nadia in Minsk..." Tom turns back to Nadia. "...I've never felt anything more real in my life." Nadia smiles and rubs Tom's shoulder a bit.

Tom turns back to Sydney. "So, did anything happen at work today while I was away?" Sydney quickly turns to Nadia. Tom notices and turns to Nadia, who's smile has been replaced by a look of frustration. "I talked to my father about the mission in Minsk. He was upset that I kept my history with Cesar a secret, and he was upset that I hung you out to dry. He was right, I'm so sorry I sent you in like that..." Tom waves his hand and shakes his head. "Nadia, you had your reasons for keeping your secret, and they're the same reasons I kept my secrets...I was afraid just like you were. Plus, I got over-confident, so don't worry about it. All that matters is we're alive, and we got the glass."

Nadia sighs. "My father is talking with Chase and Jack about your condition as we speak. When we talked earlier, I told him that, on behalf of Sydney and Vaughn as well, that we still trust you and have faith in you. In fact, I told my father that if you are forced out of APO, I'm following you out." Tom's eyebrows shoot up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nadia, that's a little extreme..."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, I meant it. You mean too much to me." Tom leans back in his chair, now curious. "What did he have to say when you threatened to walk?" Nadia shakes her head. "Basically the same thing you did. Then, we adjourned our meeting. He gave me no indication on where you stand."

Tom then looks back over at Sydney. "Did your dad have anything to say?" Sydney shakes her head. "I think you already know the answer to that..." Tom nods his head and sigh. "Yeah, I can see his poker face now, telling you something about it 'being addressed' or something."

Tom then sighs, then looks at Nadia. "Hey, do you want to go see a movie? I've been nervous over what's going to happen tomorrow...a movie might get my mind off things." Before Nadia can respond, Sydney says "Vaughn was going to come by in about a half-hour and watch Bourne Supremacy with me. You two can stay and watch with us."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, I don't want to impose..." Sydney shakes her head back and smiles. "You two wouldn't be imposing at all! In fact, it'd be fun to have the four of us together." Tom smirks and nods in agreement before turning back to Nadia. "I agree with Syd. Besides, there's a brand new package of cookie dough ice cream in Sydney's freezer that has been calling my name for a few days now. I don't think I can resist anymore..."

Nadia smiles as she realizes something. "Oh yeah, and I just bought some chocolate chips, sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate syrup..." Tom, now with a look of total lust on his face, suddenly leans in and gives Nadia a smooch on the cheek. As Nadia looks at him surprised, a beaming Tom says "Just when I thought I couldn't love you any more, Nadia!" Nadia laughs and gives Tom a peck on the cheek. Sydney smiles and then says "So, I guess we're having movie night then!"

Tom nods finishes off his last bite of spaghetti. Just like at Nadia's party, he's the last to finish. He then stands up and grabs Nadia's empty plate, then reaches for Sydney's plate, but is stopped by Sydney's hand. "I'll get it!" Tom shakes his head. "No, you did great with dinner tonight. Relax, I've got the dishes." Nadia then gets up. "I'll help you dry them."

Sydney then eyes down Tom a bit. "Are you going to wash the dishes in your business suit?" Tom looks down and starts nodding. "Ah, good catch. Let me change into my shirt and shorts and I'll be back out."

Tom grabs Sydney's plate and walks over to the kitchen counter and sets the dishes on the counter, then walks left and walks into Nadia's room.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Nadia and Sydney are seen putting the leftovers away. Nadia then hears her cell phone go off in her bedroom.<p>

She quickly walks over to her bedroom door and opens it. She quickly stops when she sees a shirtless Tom with his back turned to her, his back scars fully exposed. Tom's standing in front of a mirror, examining his front scars, and not paying much attention to Nadia.

By now, Nadia's phone has stopped ringing. She slowly walks up behind Tom and wraps her arms around his waist. Tom, still looking in the mirror, cracks a small smile as Nadia hugs him from behind. He softly says "Hey, beautiful." Nadia smiles as she looks in the mirror at Tom and softly says back "Hey, handsome."

Tom takes a deep breath, then smiles. "I'm still handsome to you, even with these scars..." Nadia nods her head. "Of course."

Nadia then looks down and grabs Tom's right hand, which now has a smaller bandage on Tom's palm. She asks "How's your hand?" Tom looks down at it and nods. "It's healing good. Doctors were impressed with the field dressing you did. They say it's going to heal normally, probably with no scar as long as I keep Neosporin on it. That's good, because I have enough scars already."

Nadia chuckles as she spins Tom around to face her. Looking into his eyes, she says "I knew being with you gave me a solid foundation to stand on. I just didn't know how solid you really were!" As she says that, she starts grabbing Tom's arm and body a bit to accentuate her point. Tom smiles as she does that. "And speaking of solid, I knew you were strong...tough...and now I fully know where you got it from. I hate that you had to go through all that in your younger life, but you truly turned out to be something special."

Tom then grabs Nadia's other hand and looks deep into her eyes. "I love you so much, and there is nothing in this world I'd change about you." Nadia then looks at Tom with a sincere smile. "I love you, too. And there's nothing I'd change about you. You're wonderful the way you are." Tom, who looks genuinely touched by that comment, brushes Nadia's hair back behind her ear. As he does that, Nadia runs her hand through Tom's short blonde hair a bit. Then, in what's becoming her trademark, she puts her hand on the back of Tom's head and yanks it towards her so she can give him a nice, long kiss.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office, the next day<strong>_

Tom and Nadia walk in the front entrance together, followed closely by Vaughn and Sydney. Despite it being the morning, the four of them look like they're in a great mood.

We hear Vaughn say "And once again, Matt Damon convinces me that he can be an ass-kicking machine." Tom raises his eyebrows. "Well, you get to date the female Jason Bourne! Sydney can snap your neck and, at the same time, be one of the nicest people I've met!"

Sydney's eyes furrow at Tom. "I'm not THAT nice..." Tom steps back a bit and holds up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, Jenny Bourne!" Sydney and Vaughn start laughing at that. Nadia chuckles a bit and says "I always find it interesting watching those kind of movies, considering what we do for a living." Tom asks "Hit a little close to home for you?" Nadia laughs. "Sort of. But, I guess even spies need heroes. I wish I could do half of what Bourne can do!"

The four of them turn the corner into the APO office. Sydney and Vaughn keep walking down the hallway and wave at Tom and Nadia, who turn right down the middle hallway towards their desks at the end of the row.

As they get to their desks, Jack rushes up to their desk, alarming both Tom and Nadia somewhat. Jack quickly says "Director Chase has asked for you, Tom. She's in the office with Sloane. But, before the meeting, I wanted to let you both know about the potential Rambaldi anomaly in Tom's blood." Tom folds his arms. "You got the results back from my testing yesterday?"

Jack nods. "Yes, we have everything back. But, of course, Sloane can't know about this, so I'm telling you now. Your anomaly has been VERY active lately." Tom looks at Nadia. "Well, we've been spending more time with each other outside of APO..." Jack cuts him off. "That's probably why. We're now pretty sure that you two have 'The Connection' in your systems. Anyway, I thought you two should know. Tom, come with me."

Tom looks at Nadia and gives her a sheepish smile, fearful about the conversation that's to come. Nadia gives Tom a reassuring smile and says "It's going to be ok." Tom just nods and follows Jack into Sloane's office.

In the office, Sloane is seated behind his desk. Director Chase stands to his back-left, and Jack takes his position on Sloane's back-right. Tom walks up to a lone chair in front of Sloane's desk. Sloane then makes a hand motion towards the chair. With his usual poker face, he says "Have a seat, Tom."

Tom sits down as instructed and, to the surprise of the three, starts talking. "Before we begin, I just want to apologize to Sloane and Jack for keeping my condition a secret and leaving you in the lurch for as long as I have." Before Tom can say more, Director Chase says "Keeping Project Alloy a secret was not your final decision. You have nothing to apologize for. You were ordered to keep quiet."

Tom nods. "Very well. Anyway, I realize that my condition has caused my participation level here to be limited somewhat. And I understand this could be causing a problem. So, if I'm here to be terminated or reassigned..." Tom looks down at his shoes and now looks worried. "...I beg that you reconsider. I truly feel I have found my purpose in life here. I enjoy working here, and I don't want to leave." Tom then looks back up at Sloane, Jack, and Chase. "But, if it is indeed my fate to leave APO, then I understand, and I just want to thank everyone here for the opportunity to serve this division. That's all."

Tom then takes a deep breath and relaxes a bit. Sloane looks down at the table and doesn't say anything. Jack and Chase give each other a curious glance. Chase then turns to Tom and asks "What gave you the impression that your position here was in jeopardy?" Tom looks at Sloane and says "I know it's bothered you, Sloane, that you didn't know of my condition. And after what happened the other day in Minsk..." This time, Jack cuts him off. "We have no problem with your performance in Minsk."

Tom looks at Jack curiously. "Jack, I got captured, and if I didn't have a metal hand, myself and Nadia would be dead..." Sloane cuts Tom off now. "You'd be dead because Nadia didn't inform you about her past with Cesar. She knew what Cesar was capable of, and she should have stopped you. You didn't know about his past with Nadia, and you didn't know about his desire to kill you."

Tom shakes his head. "Nadia was afraid to tell anyone about her past, just like I was afraid to tell anyone about mine. Besides, I got over-confident..." Jack cuts Tom off again. "You were confident because you trusted that you had all the information you needed from your fellow agent and made a decision based on that information. You did nothing wrong. And your work here has been very good of late, so you have nothing to be ashamed about." Sloane immediately says "I concur with Jack. You've been very helpful to this division."

Chase then says "The subject of your termination or reassignment never even came up in our conversation. In fact, I've come to understand that you've assimilated yourself very well here, and have already earned the trust of your fellow agents. So, you're not going anywhere." Tom smiles wide. "Thank you. I'm glad to hear that."

Chase then walks up to Sloane's side. "We have all your test results back. Now, before I reveal them, I want to ask you one more time...how are you feeling physically?" Tom shrugs. "Very good. My head feels fine, the lump from the blow is almost gone. No blurred vision, no double-vision...nothing like that. As for the rest of my body, I'm feeling rather good, actually."

Chase nods his head. "That's good. Your CAT scan revealed no damage to the brain from the impact a couple days ago. In fact, doctors had a hard time finding any evidence of bruising or damage from the original accident that happened during surgery. They're giving your brain a clean bill of health. As for your physical tests, your reflexes graded out high. Everything else came back good as well, which tells us that your body has completed the recovery process from Project Alloy"

Chase then looks down at Sloane. "You wanted to take this next part, Arvin?" Sloane smirks as he looks at Chase, then back at Tom. "The CIA is lifting any medical restrictions you may have had because of the surgery. I talked with Chase, and I talked with Jack...and we feel it is best that you not only continue on with us...but that you continue with us as a full field agent."

Tom's eyes widen and his jaw drops. He lets out a chuckle...then starts laughing. He claps his hands together and hunches over. "My God...I don't believe it! Thank you! You don't know what it means to me, to no longer be considered something less than what I am!"

Sloane stands up as Tom does. Tom reaches over and shakes Jack's hand, then curiously goes around Sloane to shake Chase's hand. Then, he looks over at Sloane and extends his hand for a handshake. "Thanks for having faith in me." Sloane smirks as he shakes Tom's hand. "Keep up the good work."

Jack then hands Tom new CIA credentials. "I updated your credentials to reflect your full agent status. It goes into effect immediately." Tom looks at the credentials, which has his picture as well as details on his CIA status. He then looks at a part that says 'Medical Restrictions'. He smiles as he sees the box next to it is not checked. He grabs his old CIA credentials and holds them side to side with his new credentials. His old credentials have that box checked.

Tom then tosses his old credentials on Sloane's desk. "I won't be needing those anymore." Then, Tom walks off beaming, with his new credentials in hand.

Tom walks back to his desk, looking at his CIA credentials with an amazed look still on his face. Nadia, who was sitting at her desk, stands up and walks up to him. "Hey, how did your meeting go?" Sydney notices and walks up to Tom's desk herself. Tom notices and waits for her to get to his desk.

After she does, Tom looks at Sydney and says "I no longer have a reason to be defined by my condition anymore." Tom then looks at Nadia. "Not only am I going to stay here, but I don't have any medical restrictions anymore. I'm now a full field agent."

Nadia beams and gives Tom a hug. "Congratulations! I'm so glad for you!" Sydney pats Tom on the back. "Yeah, congratulations. I'm happy to hear that." As he's hugging Nadia, he nods his head at Sydney. "Me too...me too."

Tom releases the hug and looks at his new CIA credentials again. All he can do is smile at the face he sees looking back at him in his photo ID.

For the first time since the morning of June 6, 2003, he felt whole again.


	12. Ch 11: Meet Edward Landry

**MEET EDWARD LANDRY**

_Timeline of episode: Season 4, Episode 13_

_Episode note: Assume Marshall made it to work on time, but was doing something else when the hard drive exploded._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Downtown Los Angeles<strong>_

There is a struggle taking place in Tom's car.

As he's driving down the freeway, Tom wants to listen to the local alternative rock station. However, Nadia keeps changing the channel to a pop station. They go back and forth changing the channel...one second, Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is playing and the other second, it's Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get It Started".

Finally, Tom changes it to the alternative station and puts his hand over the radio controls. "Driver picks the station!" Nadia tries to pull Tom's hand away, but to no avail. She eventually sighs and sits back in her seat. "Ugh! I hate this...noise! It's not even music!"

Tom shakes his head slowly and has a look of feign anger on his face. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just trash the greatest rock band of all time..." Nadia quickly replies "You want to talk about rock stars...what about a guy with talent...like Prince!"

Tom looks at her with a look of complete shock. "WHAT? Prince isn't a rock star! Why didn't you just say Michael Jackson if you wanted to be so far off on music genres?" Nadia shakes her head quickly. "Hey! Purple Rain is considered by some to be one of the best rock albums of all time!"

Tom quickly asks "Considered by who? The people at the mental asylum?" Nadia, seeing as Tom is not going to budge, just looks out the window and folds her arms in a pout. Tom sees this and says "Listen, I was raised under the rules that the driver controls the car radio. When I was a boy, if I tried to change the channel off of the old-timey country station my grandpa liked to listen to, he'd smack me in the face!"

Nadia giggles a bit. "Thank goodness you're not your grandpa!" Tom smiles, then quickly frowns and shakes his head. "My POINT...is when you're driving me around sometime, you can listen to what you want. When I drive, I listen to what I want."

Nadia then turns and looks at Tom a little incredulously. "You never let me drive!" Tom returns the incredulous look with another. "You never ask!" Nadia then says "So, if I asked you to pull over right now and let me drive into work, would you let me pick the music?"

Tom shakes his head as he pulls off the freeway. "No, because I'm not going to pull over now! We're almost at work!" Nadia slaps Tom on the arm. "No, I didn't mean literally! I just want to make sure you're consistent with your rules..."

Tom then turns to Nadia with a smile. "Yes! You could then pick your music." Tom then puts his hand on Nadia's knee. "By the way, the only thing that's more consistent than the rules I follow in life is my love for you." This causes Nadia to form a wide smile on her face as she grabs Tom's hand that's on her knee. "I know. Even if we don't agree on music, we at least agree that we love each other, even with our faults." Tom nods his head, understanding that she was alluding to both of their dark pasts.

Tom suddenly stops in front of a subway entrance and turns the music down. Nadia looks at her surroundings a little curiously. "Why are you stopping here?" Tom says "Sloane came across something called 'Nightingale' the other day and he's tasked me with finding out details about it. I have a meeting with one of my informants in a few minutes that I have to take care of before I head into work."

Nadia gives a quick, understanding nod, then leans over and gives Tom a pretty long kiss. After she releases the kiss, she says "Thanks for the ride to work today. I was freaking out when Sydney left without me to go to Cuba on a mission!" Tom laughs. "Well, that's what happens when you're roommates with a stealthy CIA agent!"

Nadia shrugs. "I guess! Anyway, I love you." Tom smiles wide. "I love you too. I'll see you in a little bit." Nadia opens the car door and says "You better!" before stepping out. Tom smiles as he watches her walk into the subway, which leads to the APO office. To no one in particular, he says "Thank goodness I was injected with a Rambaldi artifact that made me fall head over heels for her..." Tom then pauses for a bit and now looks to be in deep thought. "I wonder WHEN I was injected..."

Tom's thought process is cut off by the sound of a car horn behind him. He waves at the guy behind him and takes off.

* * *

><p><em>Story note: While Tom is away, a hard drive that Dixon recovers turns out not to be a hard drive at all. It explodes, killing the poor nameless IT guy that was working on it and forces Dixon to go into a seizure. He survives, but now APO is on lockdown for 36 hours, and Sydney is buried alive in Cuba. But, APO does have one recently-promoted field agent that wasn't at APO at the time the lockdown began...<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside the Alcove Cafe and Bakery, Los Angeles<strong>_

From a distance, we see Tom sipping on coffee while chatting with a man. The conversation is casual, but we see Tom is starting to get a bit frustrated.

Finally, the man stands up and Tom stands with him. Tom reaches out and shakes his hand. "Even though you told me what I already knew, thanks for meeting with me." The man smirks. "Thanks for the free coffee."

The man then walks away and Tom goes a separate direction. He's shaking his head. "Man, these people make so much money, and yet, they still love their freebies...unreal." Tom hits the button to unlock his Cadillac that is parked on the street at the end of the block.

As he gets in his car, he gets a phone call. On the caller ID, he sees it's the APO office calling. He automatically assumes it's Sloane and answers. "I'm on my way in, Sloane. Unfortunately, my informant was a dud." Instead of Sloane's voice, he hears Jack Bristow's, and it sounds like he's on a speakerphone. "Tom, it's Jack. This isn't about your meet this morning. Sydney's in trouble."

Tom stirs in his seat a bit as he turns the ignition in his car. "What's wrong? Did something happen in Cuba?" Jack says "Sydney's buried alive in a cemetery in Cuba. The hard drive Dixon acquired exploded and released a toxin. Everyone here at APO is on lockdown for 36 hours." Tom only thinks of one thing. "Is Nadia ok?"

Tom then hears Nadia's voice. "I'm fine! One of our IT guys died and Dixon had a seizure, but he's going to be fine!" Jack then picks up the conversation. "No one can leave APO to rescue Sydney, but you can. You need to get to Cuba and find Sydney."

Tom racks his brain for a bit. "Do we know WHERE in Cuba she is?" Jack says "Somewhere in Havana, she's using a cell phone but we haven't been able to triangulate a signal, it keeps cutting out."

Tom then looks like a light bulb has gone off in his head. "I know who would be able to get a lock on that signal. Jack, I know you haven't exactly warmed up to his idea in the past, but I want to use Mike and David's help on this." Suddenly, he hears Sloane's voice. "You're talking about your former Storm Crew teammates who are now CIA freelancers."

Tom nods. "Yes, David was my op-tech, he'll be able to triangulate that signal, he's got special programs he made just for this. Mike, meanwhile, knows Cuba like the back of his hand. I'll fly into Baltimore, pick them up, and fly down to Cuba and by the time we're there, we'll know EXACTLY where Sydney is."

Tom hears a pause on the other end, followed by Jack saying "Do it. I'll set up a charter to Baltimore." Tom starts driving off. "Already on my way to the airport. I'll bring her back alive...you have my word."

Tom then quickly hangs up and dials another number. On the other end, Mike picks up the phone. "Hey Tom! What's going on?" A cocky smirk forms on Tom's face. "You ready to get the band back together?"

Mike's eyes widen and he starts beaming. "Hell yes! What's the mission?" Tom quickly replies "Search and rescue mission in Cuba. One of our agents is buried alive and she doesn't have a lot of time. I'm chartering a private plane to Baltimore, I want you and David to meet me at Baltimore Washington Airport, we'll discuss the details on the way to Cuba. My superiors have authorized your participation, and they pay pretty well."

Mike laughs a bit. "Tom, I know you'll take care of us. We're in. I'll let David know." Tom smiles. "Good. He'll need to triangulate a sketchy cell phone signal, so let him know to bring whatever he needs for that. My plane should be ready when I get to the airport, I'll be there in a couple of hours. Be waiting!"

Mike laughs. "Come on, it's us! We wouldn't miss an opportunity for a Storm Crew reunion!" Tom laughs back. "Alright, see you in a few hours!"

Tom hangs up the phone as he pulls into LAX airport.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere over the Atlantic<strong>_

We catch up to Tom on a chartered plane, sitting across from Mike and David. David is setting up his laptop while Tom and Mike have a conversation. Tom tells Mike "Thanks again for helping out. I don't know anyone that knows Cuba as well as you do." Mike smirks. "Man, it feels good to be working together again. I think this is the first time we've worked together like this since Dark Cover folded."

Tom shakes his head. "Nope, this is different because, for the last year of Dark Cover, I was held back by Project Alloy-caused health concerns. This will be more like pre-June 2003." Mike's eyes widen a bit. "You mean..."

Tom smirks. "Yep! No more medical restrictions! I'm a full agent again!" Mike reaches across and slaps Tom on the shoulder. "Congrats man!" David looks up from setting up his computer equipment. "Yeah, same here man! I take it you finally told them."

Tom looks over and gives him a somewhat sheepish nod. "Yeah, I had a bullet bounce off my hand last week in Minsk and go into the forehead of the very man that shot at me. I can't hide that in a debrief. So, I let everyone in on the big secret." Mike sits back. "That includes what happened in Torino?"

Tom nods. "Yeah. Turns out the agent we're saving in Cuba was very understanding, since she was involved in something similar years back. Actually, everyone seemed pretty understanding about it. I thought for sure I was going to be canned, but instead, I got a promotion! Go figure!" David shakes his head. "I'm not surprised. I thought you should have told them from the get-go."

Tom leans towards David. "Remember, keeping Project Alloy and Torino a secret was a mutual agreement between me and the CIA. It literally took a miracle in order to open up those cans of worms." David casually shrugs. "Yeah, but you didn't exactly fight the CIA's desire to keep it a secret, either. Just saying."

Tom looks at Mike a little curiously. "Since when did David become such a Devil's Advocate?" Mike says sarcastically "Probably when he started blowing up buildings in Bulgaria." Tom and Mike share a laugh at that while David just smiles and shakes his head.

Tom eventually stops laughing and composes himself. "Alright guys, time to get to brass tax here." Mike composes himself as well. "I agree. This is a search-and-rescue for a fellow agent. What else do we need to know?"

Tom looks down. "I must emphasize...failure is not an option here. This agent is very important to the division...and to me." Mike tilts his head a little suspicious. "It isn't Nadia, is it?"

Tom looks up and shakes his head. "No, her half-sister." Mike's jaw drops. "Nadia has a sister? Why didn't you tell me this?" Tom rolls his eyes and puts his face into his palm, picking up on Mike's intent. "Mike..." Mike leans forward. "Is she single?"

Tom removes his head from his palm and looks at him incredulously. "You see? THAT RIGHT THERE is why I never said anything about Nadia having a sister!" Mike throws up his arms. "What the...? All the times you helped me try to find a girlfriend in the past and you're putting your foot down now?"

Tom leans forward. "Mike, she's not your type." Mike gets a quizzical look back on his face. "I have a type?" Tom quickly replies. "Yeah, single."

This causes David to start laughing. Mike looks at David with an irritated look, then back at Tom. "I see...let's pick on the bachelor! You know, just because you two have stable relationships doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face!" Tom laughs a bit, then gets a serious look on his face. "Look, if Sydney was single, I'd totally hook you up. She's good people, and I consider her a pretty good friend. But, she's in a pretty serious long-term relationship. Now, if I thought the boyfriend was a douchebag, then maybe I'd try something, but in this case, Vaughn is also a guy I consider a friend."

Mike smirks. "I gotcha...wait, is there a third sister?" Tom's eyes widen. "No there isn't, Romeo!" Mike hangs his head and nods. "Gotcha."

Tom composes himself again. "Alright guys, can we try this mission briefing again?" David leans forward in front of his laptop. "Yeah, shoot." Tom looks back over at Mike, who has composed himself and nods.

Tom starts off. "The agent in duress is named Sydney Bristow. She was sent on a mission in Havana, Cuba to help locate a hard drive that contained information on a large-scale attack on a civilian target that's apparently imminent. Long story short, she was compromised and buried alive with her dead informant. Problem is, we don't know WHERE she is. She's been calling our office on a cell phone, but the signal is too faint for our equipment to trace. David, think you can work your magic on that signal?"

David smirks. "If it's emitting ANY signal, I'll find it. All I'll need is the phone number. In fact...I could locate her exact location if she calls my laptop directly." Tom raises an eyebrow, then grabs his cell phone and dials APO.

Jack answers on the other line. He sounds like he's still on speakerphone. "Tom, what's your status?" Tom says "We're about 10 minutes or so from Cuba. Are you still on the line with Sydney?" Jack says "Yes, she's still alive, but she's not doing well." Tom, a little exasperated, says "Oh geez, hang on a second..."

Tom holds the phone away from his ear. "David, what's the number she needs to call?" David says "888-555-9191". Tom nods, then gets back on the phone. "David says he can locate her exact location if she calls directly into his laptop. Can she call the number I'm about to give you directly?"

Jack replies "No, her battery is about to die any second. I could forward her line to you, though." Tom holds the phone away from his ear. "David, if they forwarded her line to your laptop, would that work?" David nods. "Yeah, that would work." Tom gets back on the phone. "Forward her line to this number, we'll get her location, and shoot her right back to you. She won't have to do anything."

Jack says "What's the number?" Tom says "888-555-9191." On the phone, he can hear Jack telling Sydney "Tom is en route to Cuba and he's going to track your phone. I'll have to forward your number to his, so you'll probably hear silence for a few seconds." After a brief pause, Jack gets back on the line. "Alright, is he set up?" Tom looks over at David and mouths "Are you ready?" David nods and says "Yeah, go for it."

Tom relays the message to Jack. After a few seconds, we hear a "ding" on David's laptop. We see David furiously typing away at something. As he does, he says "Alright, I'm getting her exact coordinates...just give me a couple more seconds..." Tom tells Jack "He's working on it, should just be a couple more seconds."

A few seconds later, a beep is heard on David's computer. David exclaims "Got it!" Tom asks "How accurate?" David smirks. "Right down to her fingernail!" Tom smirks back. "Good..."

Tom then starts talking into his cell phone again. "Jack, we got her location. What's the number we should use to forward her back to you?" Jack says "888-555-2387. Good luck." Tom confidently says "No luck needed. She's coming back alive."

Tom hangs up the phone and tells David "Forward that line back to 888-555-2387." David punches some keys on his laptop. "Done."

David then inputs something into his laptop and swings it over so Tom and Mike can see what's on the screen. David says "This is an infra-red satellite snapshot of those coordinates, taken just a few seconds ago. Note the heat signature at the exact spot."

Tom nods. "That has to be Sydney." Mike examines the map a little longer. "Ok, I know where exactly where this place is. This is a cemetery where a lot of problems in organized crime get 'solved'."

Tom looks over at Mike. "We need you to navigate for us in Cuba. We also need to pick up some shovels before we get to the cemetery." Mike confidently nods. "Done. There's a hardware shop near the cemetery, we'll stop there first."

Tom looks at Mike a little astonished. "Damn, you DO know Cuba, right down to the mom and pop hardware shops!" Mike laughs. "And after we're done, we'll go eat at this great Cuban restaurant in downtown Havana. Best sandwiches in the Caribbean, bar none!"

Tom nods. "Good idea, I'm sure Sydney will be starving after we save her." Mike leans forward and has a cocky smirk. "I was thinking that myself. Whatever I can do to help her out."

An ashamed Tom closes his eyes and puts his head back into his palm. "Mike, of all the weaknesses you could have, why does women have to be your worst?" Mike just laughs, but doesn't say anything.

A few seconds later, the pilot chimes in to say that they're approaching Havana and asks the three to put on their seatbelts.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Havana, Cuba<strong>_

A taxi van pulls up in front of an entrance to a cemetery. We see that it's a rather dreary day in Cuba as Tom, Mike, and David pile out of the taxi. The back door pops open and the three grab their shovels and make a break for the cemetery.

Tom, leading the way, makes a right turn at the entrance, then starts scanning for fresh graves. Mike and David follow along. Finally, Mike exclaims "There it is!"

Tom, as he's running, turns to see Mike pointing to the northwest. Tom turns in that direction and sees a fresh grave.

Tom, Mike and David surround the grave and immediately start digging away.

Meanwhile, back at APO, Marshall has a satellite image on one of the bigger screens in the APO conference room. Jack, Sloane, Vaughn, and Nadia are also watching intently on the former Storm Crew members digging out the grave.

After a few minutes, David clanks his shovel on something hard. "I got something!" As he says that, Mike and Tom clank on something too. Tom taps on whatever he clanked on. "This is our casket! Quick, dig out the sides so we can get this thing out. David, get on top, we'll need you to help pull this thing out!"

David climbs out of the grave as Tom and Mike dig away at each side of the casket. Finally, Tom and Mike stop digging and toss their shovels out of the grave. They grab the handles on each side. Tom looks at Mike. "On three...one...two...three!"

Mike and Tom lift up on the casket. David reaches in and grabs a handle at the tail end of the casket and pulls it out while Tom and Mike push. Once the casket is fully out, Tom and Mike climb out of the grave.

Tom goes to the casket and pulls out his Mayan pocket knife. He wedges it between the crude lid and the rest of the casket and starts prying at the lid. He keeps doing this throughout various points of the casket until the lid is popped open enough for Tom to rip the cover open.

Once he rips the lid off and tosses it to the side, Tom immediately sees the dead informant and a lifeless Sydney lying next to him. Tom immediately scoops Sydney up and sets her gently on the ground next to the casket. He puts his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. He then leans over and puts his ear on Sydney's chest. Tom then gets a discouraged look on his face. "I've got nothing." Mike and David look equally discouraged.

Tom then reaches into his pocket and tosses Mike his cell phone. "Dial the last number I dialed on that phone, that's the number to APO. Keep them apprised of what's going on, I'm going to try CPR." Mike nods and dials APO as instructed.

On the other line, Jack picks up on the speakerphone and asks "Who is this?" Mike says "This is Mike Walcott, I'm with Tom in Havana." Jack nods. "Right, I just wanted to make sure who I was talking to. This is Jack Bristow."

Tom starts pumping Sydney's chest. Mike, as he's watching, says "Sydney doesn't have a pulse. Tom's doing CPR." A pall gets cast over the members in the APO conference room.

Meanwhile, Tom blows into Sydney's lungs for the first time. Nothing.

Tom pumps Sydney's chest and blows into her lungs again. Still nothing. Tom starts to get exasperated as he starts pumping again. Under his breath, he says "Come on Syd..."

Once again, Tom blows into Sydney's lungs and nothing happens. Tom is now losing faith as he goes back to pumping Sydney's chest. He yells out "COME ON SYDNEY! WAKE UP!" in frustration. Everyone in the APO conference room hears this through the phone Mike is holding. Their hearts are starting to sink a little further as well.

Tom makes another attempt at blowing into Sydney's lungs. After seeing nothing, he reaches over to make another attempt at pumping Sydney's chest.

But, just as he does, Sydney starts coughing. Tom jumps back and lands on the ground, sitting up. Tom looks at Mike and David and frantically starts waving his hands back. "Move back, give her some air!"

Mike and David step back a bit as Sydney sits up, still coughing. Everyone in the conference room is both seeing and hearing this and relief starts to wash over everyone's faces.

Back in Cuba, Sydney finally stops coughing and holds her head, trying to compose herself. After a few seconds, she looks up and sees an astonished and rather dusty Tom Falk looking back at her. All Sydney can muster is a "Hey..."

Tom smirks and says "Welcome back!" Mike gets back on the cell phone. "Looks like Sydney's ok." Everyone at APO takes a relieved deep breath at that news.

Sydney, hearing Mike's voice, turns to her right and sees Mike and David standing there. "Who are you guys?" Tom leans forward, still sitting on the ground. "The man with the beard is Mike Walcott, and the man to his right is David Marston. These are my surviving brothers from Storm Crew. We saved your life."

Sydney reaches up to shake Mike's hand. "Thanks guys." Mike smiles. "No problem. Glad to help." David then shakes Sydney's hand. On the phone, Jack tells Mike "Could you give Sydney the phone, please?"

Mike nods and hands the phone to Sydney. "Jack wants to talk to you." Sydney grabs the phone. As she does, Tom stands up and tells Sydney "I need a word with my friends for a bit." Sydney nods as Tom walks down the row with Mike and David.

Down the row, Tom stops and turns to Mike and David. "Thanks as always for your help. I know this wasn't the sexiest mission in the world, but I couldn't have done this without you guys." Mike nonchalantly shrugs. "No problem, a friend of yours is a friend of ours."

David nods. "Yeah, plus we haven't been doing anything lately, so it was good to get out and about." Tom folds his arms. "The CIA has no work for you guys?" Mike shakes his head. "Not as of late." Tom looks back at Sydney, who's still talking on the phone. "You know, you two could come work with us at APO. You'd have my support as well as Nadia's, and after today, Sydney's."

David shakes his head while Mike looks non-commital. David says "My wife doesn't want to uproot and move us and the kids from Baltimore. As much as I'd like working with you on a permanent basis again..." Tom shakes his head. "No man, I understand. I know Lisa is from Baltimore and she always seemed attached to the city."

Mike, looking at the ground, nods too. "Yeah, I kind of like the freedom I have now. Even though we're not getting a lot of work, we're still making good money. Plus, I'm sure this isn't the last time you'll call on our help."

Tom lets out a disappointed sigh, then understandingly nods. "That's cool. And you'll be well compensated for this mission..." David's stomach growls and cuts off Tom's train of thought. Tom and Mike both raise an eyebrow as David grabs his stomach. A somewhat embarrassed David says "Man, I knew I should have ate before I came down here."

Mike then pats David on the shoulder. "I'll get you taken care of soon." Tom then pats David on the shoulder as well. Mike and Tom then looks at each other with a smirk, realizing something.

Tom and Mike then reach over and complete the arm triangle. Tom leans in and Mike and David follow along. Tom smirks and says "It's been over a year and a half since Torino, when Storm Crew as we knew it died. But today, we got the band back together and successfully accomplished our first field mission together since that day."

Tom then looks up to the sky a little somber. "This is for you guys...Chris, Eddie, Luke, Charlie, Jacob, and Jerome...wish you could have been here."

Tom looks back down at Mike and David and his smirk returns. "What's our motto again?" The three of them yell out "STRENGTH AND HONOR!"

Down the row, this makes Sydney jump a bit as she hangs up her phone. She looks on as the three break their huddle and start heading back her way with smiles on their faces.

Tom notices Sydney looking at them curiously. "Hey! You feeling better?" Sydney smiles and says "Yeah, the headache is going away slowly, but I'm ok. What was with that display of manliness back there?"

Tom, Mike, and David start laughing. Mike, still laughing a bit, says "Before the Argentina mission in 2001, you know, the one where Tom met Nadia, our director at Dark Cover told us 'strength and honor' as his dorky way of wishing good luck. Turns out he was a big Gladiator fan. Anyway, Tom held a vote to make that our team motto and it passed, believe it or not. Much to my surprise, it stuck over the years." Sydney nods her head and looks over at Tom. "So, that's why your CIA codename is Maximus." Tom nods. "Exactly."

Mike asks Sydney "Are you hungry? I know a great Cuban restaurant down the road..." Sydney looks at Mike astonished. "Did you just try to make a pass at me?" Tom winces. "Dammit, I should have warned you about him, Sydney. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him you're Nadia's sister on the plane." Tom then looks at Mike with feign frustration. Through his teeth, he says "But I warned him you were off the market..."

Mike is just shaking his head throughout all of this and looks irritated. "Oh come on, Tom! No! I wasn't making a pass! We discussed this on the plane; we all thought she'd be hungry, and I just heard David's stomach roar like we were in the Serengeti! Geez..." Sydney giggles a bit. "It's alright, I was just kidding. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to take a rain check." Sydney then looks over at Tom. "I need your help in Berlin. I'll explain on the flight there, but we have to leave as soon as possible."

Tom looks over at Mike. "Does this restaurant take carryout orders?" Mike smirks. "No, but I know the owner. He'll make an exception." Sydney nods. "Ok, we'll stop there, then drop you guys off at the airport, is that ok?" Mike and David exchange nods.

The four of them then walk off towards the taxi van that Tom, Mike, and David arrived in.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: In the actual episode, this is where Marshall poses as Jack Bristow to Third Faction leader Ulrich Kottor. Shenanigans ensue. For the few fans that read the original Project Nadia, this is one of the few parts of the story that I was actually was fairly satisfied with, so it's getting repeated almost verbatim here, with some tweaks. While Tom has his meeting with Kottor, Sydney is elsewhere trying to pull information from a server while coaching Tom along, since Tom doesn't have any prior knowledge about Kottor or the Third Faction.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Berlin<strong>_

Inside Ulrich Kottor's office, the door opens. Kottor looks as he sees a rather confident Tom Falk, who has since changed out of his dirt-covered clothes in Cuba, walk into the room. As he walks in, Kottor asks "What do you want?" Tom, not saying anything, walks up and sits down in a chair in front of his desk.

Tom then starts to speak. "Sir, I have a tape that you might find rather useful to you." Kotter asks "Who are you?" Tom shakes his head. "My name is not important, what's important..." Kotter gets testy. "I insist on knowing your name."

Tom thinks for a moment, and after not hearing Sydney's voice in his ear, says "Edward Landry." Kotter, now satisfied apparently, asks "What information do you have on this tape of yours?" Tom gets a smirk on his face. "I have information on the men you control. I know at least one of them has a big mouth."

Sydney reassuringly says through Tom's earpiece "You're doing fine." Kotter says "What men is he talking about, my club staff?" Tom laughs, then quickly snaps into a serious face. "Do the words Third Faction mean anything to you? Because I kept hearing those words a lot in this tape I have of them."

Sydney tells him "Cool it on the Third Faction talk." Tom is unfazed. "Now, I have this tape, and it's going out to the highest bidder...unless we can work out something here." Tom then hears Sydney say "That's fine, keep that going for two minutes."

Kotter then asks "What would you have to gain by selling this tape?" Tom smirks and says "Oh, to a guy like you, it wouldn't seem like much. But me..." Tom casually sits back in his chair and puts his hands behind his head in a relaxing position. "...I just like to sit back and watch the world burn. Now, say I auction this tape off to someone you hate...then I'll get to enjoy seeing the rabid dogs go after each others' throat from way off in the distance. But, if we work out a deal, then maybe you just do some internal housecleaning. Either way...I win. Now, the victory wouldn't be as sweet if I sold you this tape, but I'm not a man without mercy. Consider this meeting a courtesy."

Kotter makes an assumption and blankly says "My men would never shoot their mouth to the government." Tom raises an eyebrow and leans back forward. "What makes you think I, or the men on my tape, are with the government?" Kotter says "Because only the government would be so cavalier like you, barging to my office, making accusations about my men, trying playing one side against the other."

Tom quickly replies "In case you haven't noticed, the U.S. Government doesn't do a lot of things well. They can't manage a budget, they have problems reacting to natural disasters, and many people have trouble even getting their own mail."

Kotter looks at Tom blankly as he continues his rant. "But, one thing the government does well is being wolves in sheep clothing. Look at our politicians for instance, they'll flash you a Hollywood smile and tell you they're all about the people while they're taking special interest money on the side." Sydney, through his earpiece, says "I had no idea you were so political."

Tom finishes his rant. "Even the best men sometimes don't know they're talking to a government official." Kotter continues to stare blankly and then asks "Why did you come to ME with this?" Tom leans back in his chair, relaxed. "You're all over that tape. They even go as far as to identify you by your first AND last name. How else do you think I found you?"

Sydney tells Tom "You need to get that cigarette case closer to the laptop, we're not getting anything." Tom pulls out the case from his front pocket and waves it in front of Kotter. "You look tense. Would you like a cigarette?" Kotter says "No." Tom smiles. "Good man. I don't smoke the stuff myself, but when I'm out in a club, it never fails to get asked for a cigarette by a beautiful woman."

Tom then casually tosses the case near Kotter's laptop. Sydney then gets back in Tom's ear. "Tom, tell him that they wouldn't sell out to the government, but they would sell out to the Slobodon Wolves." Tom leans forward again. "Anyway, I've done my homework, and you're right. Your men are smart enough to sniff out a government guy after a while. But, there's nothing stopping them from talking to the Slobodon Wolves."

Kotter tries to hide his anger, but it isn't working. He asks "Who is talking to them?" Sydney says a man's name, which Tom relays. "In this case, it was a man named Dietrich Gustav. Apparently he's your #3 man. You think I would come here if it as a low level flunkie that was flapping his gums?"

Kotter says "Dietrich only speaks German. How would you understand what he's saying?" Tom forms a cocky smirk and responds, in perfect German "Ich datiert ein deutscher Austauschschüler in der 11 Klasse. Sie lehrte mich mehr über die deutsche Maschinenbau als jeder Mechaniker!" (Roughly, that translates to "I dated a German exchange student in the 11th grade. She taught me more about German engineering than any mechanic!")

Sydney laughs and says "I didn't need to hear that!" Tom laughs. Sydney smiles, then she hears from Vaughn that there's a problem with the files Tom is sending. Meanwhile, Kotter leans forward and tells Tom "Ok, let me see this tape of yours then."

Sydney tells Tom "You need to get him down to the computer down in the club basement. We need Kotter's eyeball for an optic scan." Tom listens to the information, then tells Kotter "I'll get you your tape, it's nearby. Then I'll come back and we'll finish our business in a secure location. Does this club have a basement?"

Kotter asks "Why would you want to meet in a basement?" Tom stands up from his chair. "As a sign of good faith. If I was lying, why would I want to go to a place where I can't get out of easily?" Kotter says "Fine. Be down there in five minutes." Tom says "That won't be a problem" as he picks up his cigarette case. He looks back at Kotter, holds up the case and says "I might bump into someone I like down in your club" and laughs as he walks towards the exit of Kotter's office.

* * *

><p>Downstairs, Tom meets Sydney in a secluded area in the club. Sydney says "You were absolutely brilliant up there! And here, you were telling me on the plane you haven't done much espionage before." Tom nods his head. "You're right, I haven't. Anyway, you gave me good stuff to work with, it got me through." Sydney then asks "Edward Landry? Where did that come from?" Tom quickly replies "My grandfather that raised me...that was his name. Anyway, how do you suggest we handle our meet downstairs?"<p>

Sydney says "I'll accompany you down as your 'friend' you met at the club. The only problem is how do we get Kotter to submit to an optical scan?" Tom gets an evil smirk on his face. "I've got that covered."

Tom and Sydney walk to the elevator. A door man stops them. Tom intently says "I'm here to talk to your boss in the basement". The doorman nods lets him through.

In the elevator, Tom tells Sydney "Look, he's going to want to know who you are and what you're doing here. I'll have you start talking to him, and while you do that, I'll take care of him."

Sydney wonders what Tom means by 'take care of him', but before she can ask, the elevator door opens. Kotter is standing outside the door. He immediately notices Sydney and asks "Who's this?" Tom looks at Sydney. "Funny story, why don't you tell him, babe?" Tom walks to the side of Kotter as Sydney starts saying "Well, I was at the bar and I needed a cigarette, and this nice man..."

Tom cuts her off by giving Kotter a haymaker to his jaw from the side. Kotter lands on the ground, and we see a few teeth lying next to his mouth. Sydney is shocked at Kotter's limp body and she looks back at Tom with that shocked look. Tom just smirks as he admires his right fist and says "You know, having a titanium fist has its advantages!"

Tom drags the man to an optical scanner and lifts the man's face to the scanner and opens his right eye. It's scanned, Tom and Sydney go in, get their information, and leave. Mission accomplished.

* * *

><p><em><strong>In front of Tom's apartment, the next morning<strong>_

Sydney and Tom are parked in front of Tom's apartment, talking to APO as the sun starts to rise behind them. On Sydney's speakerphone, we hear Jack say "Tom, on behalf of everyone at APO, thank you for your excellent work." Tom smirks and says "Not a problem. One of the first things I learned in the CIA was that it's easy to have the back of a friend. I'm just glad Sydney's ok."

Sydney smiles at that as we hear Sloane say "Not just for that, but for your work in Berlin as well. Sounds like you handled yourself well with the limited information you had to go with." Tom just says "Sydney was a big help. Plus, I just appreciate having the opportunity to do things like that. I hope I have earned this division's full confidence now."

Sydney answers for everyone else at APO. "You have." Tom chuckles a bit at Sydney. "Thanks." Tom then turns back to the phone. "How long is the lockdown still in effect?"

Jack says "About 14 hours, why?" Tom smirks and says "Tell Nadia that I'm sorry I missed dinner last night. Something came up." Sydney laughs and puts her hand over her mouth as we hear Nadia yell "It's ok! Work had me tied up ALL night!"

Tom laughs at that. Sloane breaks up the happy moment. "After the lockdown is over, everyone has the rest of the day off. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that the last 24 hours have been draining on all of us. I think we all would like to sleep our beds again. Sydney...Tom...I'll see you tomorrow."

Sydney says "Later" and hangs up. She looks over at Tom with a sincere look on her face, which has Tom a little alarmed. He asks "What's up?"

Sydney just smiles and says "I can't thank you enough for saving my life today." Tom shakes his head and looks down at the floorboard. "Don't worry about it..." Sydney then leans over and says "Tom, I know it's not your style, but it's ok to take credit for something! Really, I'm so grateful for what you did today."

Tom looks at Sydney and says "You're welcome. But, I do have to give credit where credit is due. I couldn't have saved you without my friends from Storm Crew." Sydney sits back in her seat. "I wish there was a way we could bring them into APO..."

Tom cuts her off and shakes his head. "I had the same idea while you talked with Jack on the phone in Cuba. David has a wife and two kids and he doesn't want to uproot his family. Meanwhile, I remember Mike was starting to get really down during the last days at Dark Cover, being tied down to one division. They're both happy with being freelancers, even though Mike was griping to me about not getting enough work lately. When I asked if they'd be interested in joining APO, they both declined for those reasons."

Sydney thinks for a bit, then asks "So, what IS up with Mike?" Tom looks at her suspiciously. "What do you mean?" Sydney, still with an inquisitive look on her face, says "I mean, I'm pretty sure he DID make a pass at me in Cuba..." Tom rolls his eyes. "I've known Mike for almost 14 years now, we both started out at about the same time in the Anti-Cartel. And for the entire 14 year run I've known him, he still hasn't found 'the one'. Sadly, I think he's getting desperate."

Sydney laughs a bit. "Actually, Mike does seem like a nice guy. I wish there was someone I knew that was single...I'd help him out." Tom laughs. "I know you would, Sydney. But, I've tried to help him for years...at this point, I think he's hopeless."

Sydney laughs again, then gets a sincere look on her face. "Well, I have to return the favor for you saving my life somehow." Tom smiles and shakes his head. "Just keep being there for Nadia. That's how you can repay me."

Sydney then says "You and Nadia...I have to admit, it's fun seeing you two together. It's like you both bring the inner child out of each other." Tom chuckles a bit and says "I find our relationship kind of amazing myself. I mean, think about it: we've both gone through hell in our lives, especially just in the past year or two. But, chance reunites us in a place we both weren't exactly seeking to work at. And in the end, two people who have seen so much darkness in their lives...make each other light up and give each other the inner peace they seek. Sydney, she makes me so happy...and I think I make her just as happy. And you've been great as well. You know...making the move to APO was easily the best decision I've made in my life. I feel re-born working here."

Tom then looks back down at the floorboard, a sign that he's somewhat embarrassed. Then, all of the sudden, he forms a smile on his face and looks back at Sydney. "You know, the vending machines at APO aren't all that great, and that's all Vaughn and Nadia have had to eat for the past day. I think after we rescue our loved ones from lockdown, we should take them out to Kitchen 24 for dinner and drinks." Sydney thinks for a bit. "That's the place you took Nadia that one night..."

Tom nods. "Yep, cheap drinks, good food, and according to Vaughn, great danishes. I've been meaning to take him up on that promise one of these days." Sydney gives Tom a playful smile. "It's a date! I'll pick you up in 14 hours then!"

Tom smiles back and says "Go get some sleep, I'll see you then." Tom then starts to get out of the car, but is stopped by Sydney saying "Wait!" Tom stops what he's doing and sits back in his seat. "What is it?"

Sydney then leans over and gives Tom a hug. She tells Tom "Thanks again for saving my life. I really appreciate it." Still hugging, Tom says "I know you'd do the same for me. Thank for being a good friend." The two then release the hug.

Tom opens the car door again and starts to step out. As he does, Sydney says "Get some sleep yourself!" Tom smirks as he closes the door and waves. Sydney then drives off.

Tom stands on the curb and watches Sydney drive off down the street. After a few seconds, he turns and heads towards his apartment.

As he's walking, he recalls the day's events in his mind. From something as simple as the tango with Nadia over the car stereo to getting to go on a mission with his Storm Crew friends again...to something as important saving Sydney's life, and then getting to participate in a little espionage mission, something he really hadn't done much of before. All in one day.

He gets to his door and stops. Staring at the door, but really off into space, he says to no one in particular "Man, I love this job."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	13. Ch 12: She'll Think I'm Crazy

**SHE'LL THINK I'M CRAZY**

_Time period of chapter: Season 4, Episode 14 (The Nightingale episode with Syd and Vaughn)_

_Warning: I don't think I go anywhere near the line between a T rating and an M rating in this chapter. However, some of the writing in this chapter is a little...different than my normal style up to this point. You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it. Really trying not to spoil anything here..._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's Apartment<strong>_

The front door opens quickly and we see Tom walk in carrying a big box. No one else is in the apartment except him. On the TV, we see and hear a hockey game being played.

However, Tom's not too focused on the game. Rather, he's more interested in the contents of his box. As he sets down the box in an open space near the front door, we see on the side that it says "Pictures".

Tom takes off his suit jacket from work as well as his tie and just tosses them on the couch. He also takes his dress shirt off, revealing a tank top underneath.

Tom takes a look at the walls of the apartment, which have nothing on them. Even though he's been with APO for a few months, he hasn't hung any pictures. "No better time like the present" he mutters as he walks to the kitchen.

He opens up a cabinet drawer and pulls out an old hammer along with some nails. He walks back over to the box and opens it. Inside the box, we see some pictures of various sizes.

Tom reaches in and pulls out one of the larger pictures. He immediately smiles as he sees what the picture is. It's him, along with 9 others in a row in an office. Mike and David, his friends from Storm Crew, are also in the picture, along with 7 others we haven't met before (_Note: Unless you read "Eye of the Storm") _Underneath the picture, a nameplate says "Storm Crew – 2001".

Tom sets the picture down and grabs a hammer along with a nail and walks over to an empty space between the front door and the entrance to his bedroom. He quickly pounds a nail in the wall. He then grabs his Storm Crew picture and hangs it where he put the nail.

He adjusts it a bit so it's level, then stands back and looks at it. After a few seconds, he looks satisfied. Smiling, he says "Good to see you again, guys."

Tom walks back over to his box and squats down to grab another picture. However, just as he does, he hears a knock on the door.

Tom looks over and raises an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting company tonight. In fact, no one except for Nadia ever comes over to his apartment.

Tom walks over to the peephole in the door and looks out. Immediately, he sees Nadia in the pink long-sleeve shirt and jeans she wore in the actual Nightingale episode standing there, holding a pizza in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

Immediately, Tom looks away from the peephole and looks surprised. He whispers "Oh damn, she didn't tell me she was coming over...or did she?" Before he can come up with an answer to that question, we hear Nadia outside say "I see your shadow under the door! I know you're in there!"

Tom winces. He's in his white tank top and dress slacks and he can't let her see him like this. Tom quickly glances over to the couch, where his work clothes still sit. As he springs towards the couch, he yells "HANG ON!"

Unfortunately for Tom, he forgets his box of pictures is on the floor between the door and couch. He trips on the box and falls to the floor. A loud "thud" is heard outside.

Nadia, a little concerned now, asks "What was that?" Tom quickly gets up from the floor and just says "Nothing, hang on!"

Tom quickly throws on his dress shirt. As he's buttoning it up, he hears Nadia say "Alright, that's it! I'm coming in!" Tom yells out "NO! WAIT!"

Too late. He can hear Nadia using her key to unlock the deadbolt on the door. Tom quickly finishes buttoning his dress shirt and frantically tucks it in to his pants.

As she starts unlocking the actual doorknob, Tom quickly throws on his suit jacket. He gets it on just as Nadia flings open the door.

Tom tries to play cool, but Nadia just laughs looking at his disheveled appearance as she picks up the bottle of wine she had set on the ground.

As Nadia walks in, Tom, who appears to have calmed down, opens his eyes wide and lets out a "Wow..." Nadia kick-closes the door behind her and looks at him a little puzzled. "What is it?"

In an odd move, Tom looks down at his arm and starts pinching himself repeatedly. Then, he gives himself a hard slap in the face.

Nadia now looks really confused at Tom's actions. "Uh, what are you doing?" Tom looks back at her and smiles. "The woman of my dreams is standing in front of me, holding a pizza from my favorite pizza place in Los Angeles in one hand, and a bottle of my favorite kind of wine in the other. I'm just checking to make sure I'm not dreaming!"

Nadia lets out a flattered laugh, then walks over to Tom and and leans in for a kiss, which Tom happily accommodates. After they kiss for a few seconds, they break up the kiss and Tom looks down at his clothes a little ashamed. "I'm sorry I'm not better dressed, I wasn't expecting you!"

As Nadia walks towards the kitchen, she says "I wanted to surprise you! Plus, Sydney and Vaughn are going out of town for the weekend and it feels weird being in Sydney's place by myself." Tom chuckles. "So, you come over to the friendly, yet smaller and more basic confines of your boyfriend's apartment. Makes sense...I guess."

Nadia sets down the pizza and wine and looks back at Tom a little irritated, with one hand on her hip. "I'm not going to be a problem, am I?" Tom gives her a reassuring smile. "Absolutely not! Especially if you come over bearing such wonderful gifts like this..."

Nadia grins and looks down at the floor all flattered. She says "Well, you always do such nice things for me...I know this isn't like going down to Argentina to pick up a soccer program for me, but..." Tom cuts her off as he walks up to her. Nadia looks back up as Tom tells her "You repay my gratitude every single day you're in my life. My love comes with only one obligation..."

Tom then reaches out and grabs Nadia's shoulders gently. "...just keep being you." Nadia gives Tom another flattered smile. "You say the most wonderful things too...that's another reason I like coming here!"

Tom laughs. "Well, it's certainly not for the artistic qualities of this place!" Nadia laughs back, then looks over Tom's shoulder towards the box on the ground and the Storm Crew picture he just hung. "I see you're making some headway on that at least. Maybe I can give you a hand with your pictures."

Tom looks back at the box and nods. "Sure! I figured it was time to give this place some character finally." Nadia asks "Why are you just now putting up pictures? You've been here for a few months."

Tom looks back at Nadia with a serious look on his face. "For a while, I wasn't sure I'd last long at APO. But now, I think I'm in this for the long haul." Nadia looks at him a little quizzically. "Why did you think you'd have trouble fitting in?"

Tom shrugs. "I don't know...I guess because this division is a different beast compared to where I've worked before. My duties in the Anti-Cartel and Dark Cover were both more focused on tactical operations, while APO is more cloak-and-dagger. Plus, for a while there, I thought I was going to strangle your father." Tom gives Nadia a wide and sarcastic closed smile (_Note: kind of like how Sawyer from Lost would do)_ as he says that last part, which causes Nadia to giggle a bit.

After she finishes giggling, she says "I have to go back out to the car and grab my clothes. I was going to stay here for the weekend, if that's ok with you." As she says that, Tom opens up the pizza box and grabs a slice of pizza. "Only if you sit with me and at least try to watch the rest of the hockey game I have on the TV tonight."

Nadia folds her arms a little irritated. "Tom, you know I hate hockey! And I thought you said your love for me had no obligations?" Tom, as he's chewing a his bite of pizza, smirks and says "You're right. But watching the game is an obligation if you want to stay here this weekend! Besides, you get off light, there's only one period left."

Nadia looks over at the TV, then sighs and looks back at Tom with a sheepish smirk. "I guess I can handle one period of hockey." Tom quickly replies "Well, you don't have to sound so enthused about it!"

Nadia just gives Tom a playful slap on the shoulder as she walks by Tom to go get her stuff from the car. As she's walking towards the front door, she stops and yells back, with a smile on her face "But no rock music, though! If I hear Metallica, I'm going back to Sydney's and spending the weekend by myself!" Tom, leaning on the counter and enjoying his pizza, just smiles and says "You drive a hard bargain, but I'll take it!"

Nadia smirks back at Tom as she walks out the front door.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's Apartment, 5 minutes later<strong>_

We rejoin Tom and Nadia, sitting on the couch and enjoying their wine and pizza while the hockey game is on TV. Tom has since changed into a plain white shirt and cargo khaki shorts.

After she finishes her bite of pizza, Nadia asks Tom "One thing I don't understand about hockey...why do they have to hit each other? I mean, it just seems like pointless violence to me." Tom thinks for a bit, then says "I'll tell you why hockey players hit each other when you tell me why soccer players act like they got shot when they get tapped on the shoulder or leg."

Nadia quickly replies "Hey! At least soccer players don't start throwing off their gloves and punching each other." Tom shakes his head. "No, they let their fans do that in the stands!"

Nadia laughs. "Ok, I'll give you that!" A smiling Tom then picks up his glass of wine from the table and takes a sip. When he's done, he looks at Nadia a little curious. "Where did you find this wine? It's usually hard to find a bottle of Chardonel outside of Missouri."

Nadia's smile gets erased as she looks down. She sets down her pizza on her plate and sets the plate on the table. Still looking down, she says "Please don't be angry with me..." Tom cocks his head, confused. "Nadia, I went through an Argentinian gangster to get your soccer program, and you weren't mad at me...so, why would I be mad with your wine source?"

Nadia looks at Tom with a scared look. "Because my wine source is your sister." Tom's confused look turns into a shocked one. "WHAT? When did you talk to...wait, how did you _even know_ how to contact my sister Karen?"

Nadia sits back on the couch. She was afraid he'd react like this. "When I stayed over here last week, she called your cell phone while you were in the shower. I answered and we talked a bit until you got done showering. I got her number and I called her back the next day and we had a nice talk." Tom looks away from Nadia and sets his wine glass down while he shakes his head in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Nadia quickly says "Because, after Karen told me why you two don't talk anymore...I was afraid you'd be angry. But, you should know something about your sister..." Tom slowly turns and looks at her, still in disbelief.

Nadia continues. "Karen loves you. And she's sorry for whatever she said to you the last time you talked, when you refused to pay for your father's funeral. She says she understands what your father put you through, and she's sorry she held your hate for him against you for so long."

Tom turns away again, digesting what Nadia just said. After a few seconds, he sighs and says "I've always been jealous of my sister. She was close with my dad before he went to Vietnam...and before he became an alcoholic. Apparently, he was a good man...a downright respectable man before the war. But, the shock of the war and losing my mother in a car accident right after he returned was too much for him to handle."

Tom turns back to Nadia, who's listening intently. He now looks frustrated. "But, the fact that he dumped me, my brother, and Karen on my mom's grandparents because he loved the bottle more than his own children...I've never forgiven him for that. But Karen would always stand up for him, and that always was a point of contention between us. Anyway, my dad died right before the Torino mission in 2003, and I said some awful things to Karen when the subject of his burial came up. In fact..." Tom hangs his head in shame. "...Karen didn't even do anything wrong. She was going through some financial problems and she turned to her family for help, as well she should have. But, my hate for my father outweighed my desire to help her, and I ended up alienating her from the one brother she has left..."

Tom then sits back himself, troubled over what he just told. Nadia looks a little somber herself. Tom then looks back over at Nadia. "You did nothing wrong either." Nadia shakes her head. "No, I probably should have told you earlier...I mean, it's your family. Karen sent the wine because she knew you would like it and maybe, just maybe she thought I could convince you to talk to her. She misses you."

Tom gives Nadia a faint smile and rubs her shoulder a bit. "You convinced me. I'll give her a call sometime. How is she, by the way?" Nadia shrugs. "She seemed ok on the phone. She's actually quite nice, and she was happy that you found love again after your ex-wife left you."

Tom laughs at that. "If she only knew the connection me and you share..." Nadia smiles wide at that, but doesn't say anything. Tom then looks down and grabs Nadia's hand. "Speaking of which...you know where I stand on what we were injected with. I want so bad to believe what we have is real. But, I've never asked your thoughts on it. Do you think our love for each other is real?"

Nadia's smile erases as she looks away in thought. After a few seconds, she looks back at Tom and smiles again. "I think 'The Connection' was a blessing. All my life, I've never felt a love this strong, and I love the way I feel just knowing you're in my life. When I wake up in the morning, whether you're by my side or not...just knowing that someone loves me the way you do makes me so happy to just be alive. And if our love isn't real, then I don't want to know what real feels like."

Nadia then scoots closer to Tom and lightly grabs the back of Tom's head with her right hand. With a heartfelt look on her face, she says "I love you so much." Tom gently smiles back and softly says "I love you, too. And I always will."

Tom then lightly puts his right hand on the back of Nadia's head. Together, they gently pull each others' heads closer and kiss each other softly. And again. And again. And again.

Nadia then leans forward, forcing Tom backwards on the couch. The hockey game, the pizza, the wine, Tom's box of pictures...all of that has become irrelevant to the make-out session the two are having.

As he's kissing her from his back, Tom realizes this make-out session feels different. The kisses are softer...slower, more sensual than usual. It just feels...right.

After about a minute of Nadia making out with him while on top, Nadia then slowly moves her head and starts kissing the side of Tom's neck. Tom returns the favor by kissing Nadia's neck as well.

After a few seconds of neck-kissing, Nadia puts her mouth outside of Tom's ear and whispers "I want you..."

Tom quickly raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn't break his make-out momentum as he processes what Nadia just whispered. It doesn't take very long for him to figure out what she meant.

Still making out with Nadia, he rises up to a sitting position, and then he stands up. As he's leaning over and still compulsively making out with Nadia, he picks her up, which causes Nadia's eyes to bug out a bit and an astonished smile to form on her face.

But, the make-out session continues uninterrupted. Now, Nadia's legs are wrapped around Tom as he holds her up with his hands on her butt. Tom carefully walks around the couch and towards the bedroom door. But, instead of walking through the bedroom door, he takes a detour to a table he has set up with a stereo on it.

Tom finally breaks the make-out session to look down at the stereo. Nadia, a little confused that the kissing has ended for the moment, looks down and sees what Tom is doing. Tom pulls out a CD and puts it in the slot. Nadia immediately rolls her eyes. "Come on, please no heavy rock music..."

Tom looks at her and gives her a Sawyer-from-Lost wide grin. In a calm, playful voice, he says "Now, I'm going to play the best love-making album ever made. If you don't like it, then I might just kick you out of my apartment." Nadia grins widely back and seductively says "You couldn't get rid of me if you tried..."

Tom grins at that and, still holding Nadia up with his right arm, he hits a few buttons on the stereo with his left hand, then hits the play button on the front of the stereo. We hear a CD spin, followed by the opening guitar riffs of The Beatles' "Something (In The Way She Moves)".

Tom looks back at Nadia with a wide smile. The smile is returned with an equally wide one from Nadia. Then, the soft kisses resume as Tom takes Nadia into the bedroom and...

Well, we can all imagine what happens from here.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's bedroom, 45 minutes later<strong>_

"_Sheer...freaking...ecstasy."_

That's all Tom can come up with in his mind as he lies in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He's pretty exhausted, but so many happy feelings were coursing throughout his body, that it was hard to find the correct word or phrase to describe them all. The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' album has long stopped playing...not that Tom noticed...or cared.

Tom looks over to his right and sees Nadia has a similar exhausted, yet extremely satisfied look on her face as she lies under the covers. Nadia looks over at Tom herself, then rolls over and lies on Tom's belly and chest. She pulls herself up a bit, then props her elbow up on Tom's left ribs and leans her head on her hand.

She's practically glowing as she stares into Tom's eyes. Her smile seems as wide as the sea, and her eyes as open and inviting as ever.

Tom lifts up his left arm and lightly brushes Nadia's cheek with his fingers. Smiling widely, he says "My God, look at you...you are so beautiful..." Nadia returns the favor by running her fingers through Tom's hair and saying "And you're so handsome right now. I don't think I've ever seen you so...blissful before."

Tom lets out a small chuckle and says "I've never had sex that great before." Nadia smiles wide and says "It was great for me, too. We should have done this sooner."

Tom looks away from Nadia a bit, thinking. But, he's still got a wide smile on his face, and there's no way it's coming off. He looks back at Nadia. "You're right. But, we do have the weekend to make up for lost time..." Nadia giggles a bit at that. "Now, aren't you glad I came over?"

Tom grins as he rolls his eyes. "I was happy you came over before, I was just kidding!" Nadia, still beaming, says "I know...anyway, I guess we should both thank Sydney and Vaughn for going on a vacation...and my desire to not be alone."

Tom strokes Nadia's hair back. "Nadia, you know you're welcome here anytime. In fact..." Tom pauses for a bit, now a bit afraid to ask what he's going to ask. Nadia notices Tom's trepidation and asks "What is it?"

Tom, with a sincere look on his face, says "I...wish I could be with you all the time. In fact, the more and more our love grows...the more and more I wish we would just leave APO, find ourselves a little bungalow on the beach, and just live out our lives together, without the specter of Rambaldi or the CIA or anything like that in our lives."

Nadia now looks somewhat intrigued as Tom keeps going. "What if we both just said 'screw fate' and took this great gift we were injected with and use it to just live our lives and grow old together? I mean, if this prophecy comes to fruition, you or Sydney are going to die...and I like you both too much, and if I ever lost you...I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Nothing else matters to me except you." Tom finally stops and anxiously awaits Nadia's reaction.

Nadia ponders what Tom said for a bit, then looks back at him with a concerned look. "Tom, you're such a big part of my life, too. And everything you said sounds great...but, it's just not realistic. I mean, what would we do for money?"

Tom looks back up at the ceiling and sighs. "Nadia, I trust you. Can you keep a secret? I mean, a MAJOR secret that cannot in any way, shape, or form ever get back to the CIA?" Now, Nadia looks really concerned. "Well, yeah, but...what is it?"

Tom looks back at Nadia with a serious expression on his face. "During my time in the Anti-Cartel, raiding cartels were our bread and butter. And more often then not, we would confiscate cash...thousands upon thousands of dollars in cash each raid. Well...I wasn't exactly honest with what I reported was confiscated..." Nadia looks like she sees where this is going. "You took some of the money for yourself?"

Tom nods slowly. "Yeah, all of us did. I have two safehouses in Mexico...one near Tijuana and the other down in the Yucatan. No one knows they even exist. Inside those safehouses, I have guns, ammo, grenades, maps, fake passports...and between the two safehouses, around 900-hundred thousand dollars locked up in safes." Nadia's eyes open wide. "Whoa...Tom..."

Tom smirks. "Yeah, business was good for a while in the Anti-Cartel. Plus, I have a lot of money saved up from my legitimate salary. I've always lived frugal, dreaming of retiring early with the woman I loved and being there to raise my children without having to be constantly called away to work. Anyway, I was just thinking about this the other day..."

Nadia, still somewhat stunned at Tom's not-exactly-legal money, listens in. Tom starts to paint the picture. "There's a city in Baja California that I've dreamed of retiring in...San Felipe. Think about it...we'd just be 2 and a half hours from the U.S. border, so we could still be close with the people we know...we'd live on a little place on the beach, down the coast from town, just the two of us...and all the money I've earned would support us FOREVER in Mexico. Time wouldn't be important to us anymore...the time we spend with each other would feel like eternity...ETERNITY...with the woman I love. No complications, no impending doom...just us."

Nadia smiles wide at the vision that Tom just laid out for her. "Wow...that sounds so wonderful..." However, much to Tom's chagrin, that smile disappears. Nadia, now with a concerned look on her face, says "I know you don't want anything to ever happen to me, and as much as I would love to live the life you just described...there still are things I want to fulfill in APO. I want to be there for Sydney and I want to be there for my father..."

Tom cuts her off. "But we would be! We'd only be a couple hours from the border..." Now, Nadia cuts Tom off as she shakes her head. "It wouldn't be the same. I've spent my whole life looking for my family, and I made a commitment to APO that I want to keep."

Tom lets out a loud disappointed sigh and looks up at the ceiling. Nadia notices and reassuringly rubs his shoulder a bit. "I'll tell you what, when we're done with our time in APO...and maybe, that can be in the near future...I'd love to join you in a place like that. Just the two of us, living out our eternity. Everything you described sounds so wonderful...and I'm glad you would want me to be a part of it." Tom looks back at Nadia and smiles. "And I'm glad your glad. I just love you so damn much, and I can't think of a better way to spend eternity than with you by my side."

Nadia looks over to the right and sees 1:33 on the clock. "I want to take you out for breakfast in the morning. We should get some sleep." Tom raises a surprised eyebrow. "Nadia, you do too much..."

Nadia smirks, then puts a finger over Tom's mouth. "No, we're not going to do that. I'm taking you for breakfast, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind!" Tom grabs Nadia's hand gently and kisses the top of it. He slowly forms a smirk on his face and says "Only if you agree to drive."

Nadia laughs. "Finally! I can pick the music in the car!" Tom laughs back, then slides her up a bit so he can kiss her. They hold on to the kiss for a while before finally letting go. Nadia rolls over to her side of the bed while Tom gets up and turns off the lights.

He gets back into bed and looks over at Nadia. He whispers "I love you..." Nadia smiles and whispers back "I love you too."

Tom then closes his eyes. In no time at any point in his life can he remember having a better night than the one he just had. And now that he's about to go to sleep, there's absolutely, positively no way it could be ruined...

...right?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's bedroom, 3 hours later<strong>_

Tom sleeps peacefully next to Nadia, who is also sleeping peacefully. He is completely sound asleep and actually has a smile on his face...a leftover from the night before.

But as he sleeps, he suddenly hears something.

_"Tom?"_

Tom's eyes open quickly. Was it Nadia? It sounded like a woman's voice, but not Nadia's. Tom turns around and looks over at Nadia and sees she's out like a light. Tom shakes his head and tries to go back asleep.

_"Tom!"_

Now, Tom is confused. He sits back up and looks over at Nadia and asks "Do you need something, babe?" Nadia stirs a bit and mumbles something unintelligible, confirming Tom's original suspicion that it wasn't her.

He mumbles "What the hell...am I dreaming?" He gets an answer quickly.

_"This is not a dream. I want to talk to you."_

Tom starts feeling his ears, seeing if he has any earpieces on. He doesn't, but what he's hearing sounds like it's in his head. Suddenly, Tom gets up and stands up out of bed. Nadia, already somewhat awake, asks "What is it?"

Tom looks back at her worried, convinced that she'll think he's crazy if he tries to explain that he's hearing voices. Tom just says "Go back to sleep. I just have to use the bathroom." This appears to satisfy Nadia, who lies back down to go back to sleep.

Tom quickly walks out of the bedroom and walks into the bathroom and closes the door. He looks at himself in the mirror and closes his eyes. He starts slapping the side of his head, thinking maybe he's having delusions or something. Unfortunately, the voice returns.

_"Tom, this is real. You don't have to fight it."_

Tom notices this voice is still as audible as ever, even though he's in a different room. He also realizes it echoes a bit, like it's talking through some sort of filter. Without making too much noise as to not startle Nadia, Tom asks "Where are you?"

The voice says _"You can't see me. I have no physical form."_

Tom, now frustrated, asks "Ok, so WHAT are you?"

The voice quickly replies _"That's not important now. I don't have a lot of time, but...I just wanted to say that I can't wait to see you again."_

Tom shakes his head quickly. "Again? Do I know you from somewhere?"

After a second, the voice says _"Of course you do. I'm your mother."_

Tom's jaw drops as he looks at the mirror, still hunched over the sink. As what he just heard sinks in, his jaw starts to quiver, and tears start to form in his eyes. "Mom? This is really you?"

The voice says_ "Yes. I've watched over you since I died...when you were just a baby. I'm so proud of the man you've become, especially with what you've had to go through."_

Tom starts openly weeping. He can't believe he's really talking to his mother, a woman he always respected, even though he has no memory of her in his life. "I always wanted to meet you...to talk to you...how is this even possible?"

The voice says_ "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Soon, we'll be together, and I'll explain everything. I love you so much."_

Tom stops weeping for a bit. "Together? What do you mean together? Am I going to die?"

Tom hears nothing. Overcome by the shock and grief of the moment, he staggers over to the toilet and sits on it. All he can do is openly sob. In between sobs, he asks himself "What just happened?"

The answer comes quickly in his mind...his mom just told him from the grave that he's going to die soon.

This mere fact makes Tom sob more...he hasn't been happier in his life because of Nadia...and now, it could all go away soon.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment- Morning<strong>_

It's 9:30 in the morning and Nadia wakes up from her sleep with a huge smile on her face. Immediately, she remembers what she was doing last night...and she turns to see the man she did it with.

Only...he's not there.

This surprises Nadia a bit. She knew he got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom...but, she didn't hear him after that. Then again, she slept about as well as she's ever slept, so she could have just not realized he was up already.

Nadia, in her bra and panties, scampers over to her luggage to grab a nightgown. She throws it on and walks out of the bedroom.

Immediately, she sees the back of Tom's head as he sits on the couch. The TV isn't on, there are no lights on. Just Tom...just sitting there.

Still, Nadia's still in full bliss from last night as she strolls up to Tom and wraps her arms around him from behind the couch. She leans in and gives Tom a kiss on his neck below his ear and tells him in a half-sleepy, half-seductive voice "Good morning, handsome."

Tom turns back with a faint smile and says "Good morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?" Nadia giggles. "Never better. I like your bed and the man that sleeps beside me in that bed..."

Tom nods his head, then goes back to looking at an older picture he has in his hand. It's of a woman holding a newborn baby in her arms at a hospital. Nadia notices that he seems a bit preoccupied with that picture. She also just now realizes that he's a bit sweaty and still in what appears to be workout clothes. She doesn't mind, though, she has to take a shower anyway.

Nadia asks "When did you wake up?" Tom shakes his head. "When I went to the bathroom last night. I couldn't sleep."

Nadia now looks a bit concerned. "Why? What's wrong?" Tom shakes his head again. "Nadia...I don't want to talk about it. Believe me, it's not you, though."

Nadia then circles around the couch and sits next to him. Still concerned, she asks "It's ok, you can tell me." Tom looks away from the picture and into Nadia's eyes. He looks very somber. "Nadia, if I told you, you'll think I've gone insane."

Nadia shakes her head. "With everything we've gone through in our lives, people would think we're both insane if we tried to tell our stories. Please, what's bothering you?" Tom, still somber, looks back at the picture. "This is the only picture I have of my mom, Mary Falk. This picture was taken by Karen not long after I was born. That's me she's holding."

Nadia smiles a bit. "She was beautiful. Is this what's troubling you?" Tom looks back at Nadia. His somber expression has not changed one bit. "Nadia, I talked to my mom last night."

Nadia's jaw drops a bit. This was definitely something she wasn't expecting. "What? That's impossible." Tom hangs his head. "I thought that myself at first. But, my mom was calling out to me while I was sleeping. When I got up to go to the bathroom, she continued talking to me, like she was in my head."

Nadia turns away a bit, still in disbelief in what she's hearing. "Well...what did she say?" Tom quickly replies "She told me she was proud of me. But what troubles me is...she also said she looked forward to seeing me soon. I couldn't see her because she told me she couldn't take a physical form...which only tells me one thing."

Tom pauses for a bit, causing Nadia to turn back at him all troubled. Tom, in as plain as he can get, says "My mom just green-lit me." Nadia tilts her head, confused. "Green-lit?"

Tom looks back down. "Green-lit was a term I've used since the Anti-Cartel when someone has been marked for execution or death. Nadia...I think I'm going to die soon." Nadia shakes her head quickly. "No, that can't be right. We're both are meant for something more, why else would we be injected with 'The Connection'?"

Tom thinks for a bit. As he's thinking, Nadia says "Are you sure 100% this voice was real?" Tom nods his head. "Yes. I went for a run this morning and tried to sort it all out...that's why I'm all sweaty still. I can't figure out either why I'm meant to die now."

Tom then sits back on the couch and sighs. Nadia scoots next to Tom and hugs his left arm. "Tom, we're going to be ok. Everything is going to work out...and I truly believe that dream you have of us living in San Felipe...I think we're going to be able to experience that. You talk about being there for me and protecting me...that works both ways. I don't want anything to ever happen to you either."

Tom looks down at Nadia as she says that. He looks touched by what Nadia has to say. "I appreciate that." Nadia quickly replies "Of course. And in the end, we're the only ones that can control our destiny. And as long as we both believe that, then all the prophecies in the world mean nothing and all of the voices we hear can just keep talking. I believe if you want something bad enough, it will happen. And I know we both want to be with each other more than anything in this world. When our time in APO is done...we'll both be there, standing in the end, and ready to spend the rest of our lives together. Because I believe it so strongly, and I want you to keep believing that too."

Tom digests everything that Nadia just told him, and then smiles wide. "You're absolutely right. Nothing can tear us apart as long as we believe that." Tom then tosses the picture of his mom to the side and leans down and gives Nadia a deep, long kiss.

Nadia then pulls away from Tom quickly and looks repulsed. "Yuck! You have some awful morning breath!" Tom rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you're not exactly minty fresh yourself, babe!"

Nadia shakes her head as she stands up. "Go take a shower, I'll make us some coffee before I take you out for breakfast." Tom folds his arms. "And just where are you going to take me?" Nadia smirks. "I think Kitchen 24 is kind of becoming 'our' place. I was going to take you there."

Tom stands up and smiles. "Great choice. I can't wait." Tom then leans over and gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek, and then turns to walk to the bathroom so he can take a shower.

Nadia watches him as he walks away. She smirks and mumbles something she said last night while Tom was messing with the stereo: "You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried." She then takes a deep breath. "We will be together for eternity...I just know it."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	14. Ch 13: The Dance

**THE DANCE**

_Timeline of chapter: Between Season 4, Episode 14 and 15_

_Note: Picks up immediately where the Nightingale episode leaves off._

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO office<strong>_

Tom and Nadia round the corner from the entrance to the main office of APO, looking very happy over something.

As they round the corner, Sydney notices them and walks up smiling herself and says "Hey you two!" Nadia, still smiling, says "Hey, how was your vacation with Vaughn?"

Sydney, who knows where she really was (Nightingale mission), just shrugs and says "Pretty good. How was your weekend?" Nadia looks up at Tom, who looks back down at her with a wide grin himself. At the same time, still looking at each other, they both say "Great."

Sydney laughs at the way they interact. She asks them "What did you two do?" Despite knowing the weekend was great, Tom just looks at Sydney, shrugs and nonchalantly says "Just hung out. Nothing special." Nadia looks down and holds her hand to her mouth to hide her giggling. The weekend was apparently really good for her.

Sydney notices, but doesn't say anything. "I see...Anyway, my dad wants to see you two right away. He wouldn't say why." The smile erases on Tom and Nadia's face as they look at each other. They both suspect this meeting might be related to their anomalies in their bloodstream.

Nadia then looks back at Sydney and cracks a small smile. "Thanks. By the way, would you have a problem if I stayed with Tom for a few more days?" Sydney looks at Nadia kind of funny. "You don't have to ask me like I'm your mom!"

Tom starts nodding quickly. "Thank you! That's what I told her, but she was worried about you being alone or something." Sydney looks at Nadia with a perplexed look. "Nadia, really?"

Nadia just shrugs a bit. "Well, yeah. But, I guess if it's not a problem then..." Sydney cuts her off with a grin. "Come on, you don't need my permission to stay with your boyfriend!"

Nadia cracks a reassured smile and looks back at Tom. "Looks like you're going to have to deal with me for a few more days then..." Tom mockingly stomps his feet. "Damn the luck..."

Sydney laughs a bit, then says "You better go see Jack, he's waiting for you two." Tom and Nadia both nod and they go their separate ways from Sydney.

* * *

><p>Tom and Nadia walk into Jack's office. Jack, looking not the worse for wear despite what happened to him in the Nightingale mission, looks up from what he's doing and looks relieved to see them both. "Good to see you two could make it to work in a timely manner..."<p>

Tom looks at his watch. "Jack, it's only 8:30..." Jack quickly replies "Most of us get here at 8." Tom goes to retort, but Nadia cuts him off. "I'm sorry, Jack. We both wanted breakfast and the place we went to was busy. It won't happen again."

Jack doesn't appear all that amused, but decides to drop the subject anyway in the interest of moving things along. He tells them to "Have a seat." Tom and Nadia take their seats in front of Jack's desk.

Tom asks "What's going on? Is this about what's in our blood again?" Jack shakes his head. "No...although doctors are starting to think the anomaly your bodies create naturally are not endorphins."

Nadia quickly asks "What do they think they are?" Jack answers "They're back to square one. They have no idea. The problem they're having is the anomalies don't appear to interact with anything in your body, so it'd hard to determine their purpose. But, they did find that the anomaly in your blood, Nadia, has some different characteristics than Tom's. They're not sure what that means, if anything. Anyway, that's not why I called you in."

Jack then tosses them a couple of files. As Tom and Nadia open theirs, Jack says "We've received intel that there is a group that is trying to form in order to pursue Rambaldi's prophecy. Their leader, we believe, is a man named Hans Janssen, a former CIA agent who turned rogue a few decades ago."

Tom notices something in the file. "This guy is former Covenant, working his way up the ranks before they folded. Now, he must think there's a void he can fill." Jack says "This man has been building up his ranks slowly, which is why we're just now catching wind on him. His group is having a meeting today in Los Angeles, at an abandoned office building. We need you two to eavesdrop on the meeting. Marshall will be with you two, recording the conversation."

Tom asks "Do we have any schematics to this place?" Jack nods his head. "Yes. The meeting could take place in one of two locations in the building. I've noted their locations in your files. You two will need to split up, with separate recording equipment. It's imperative that we find out everything we can about this group, they could be major players, so we're not going to take any chances. That's why we're sending you both in."

Tom smirks. "Consider it done. When's the meeting?" Jack tersely answers "In two hours, which is why I wanted to see you two earlier. Get with Marshall and get ready. Good luck."

Tom and Nadia nod as they stand up and leave the office.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in Los Angeles<strong>_

A cargo van pulls up in an alleyway behind a group of office buildings. Tom, wearing a plain black shirt along with black pants, puts the car in park and opens his driver's door. Nadia, wearing a similar all-black outfit, opens the front passenger door of the cargo van and goes back and slides open the rear door. We see Marshall inside, holding two small devices that look like Walkman cassette players. Behind him is a table with a laptop on it.

Tom makes it around to the open cargo van door and Marshall starts off. "Ok, remember, keep these radios on 87.1 FM, or I won't get anything. Well...actually I'll get something...probably public radio or classical music..." Tom cuts him off. "We got it, Marshall. You have our earpieces?"

Marshall reaches behind in a bag and grabs two small earpieces and hands them to Tom and Nadia. Tom and Nadia put them in their ears. Tom touches his ear and says "Maximus checking in, can you hear me, Evergreen?"

Nadia gives Tom a sarcastic look, then puts her finger to her ear. "Of course I can hear you, I'm standing right here!" Tom just shakes his head slowly with a smirk. "Alright, smartass. Our earpieces work."

Nadia smirks back at Tom. Meanwhile, Marshall sheepishly says "Not being a smartass here...but I heard you guys too...I already have my earpiece in."

Tom and Nadia both turn to Marshall and give him a blank look. Tom eventually says "That's great...anyway, Nadia..." Tom turns to Nadia. "We'll go in the side door together. We'll have to proceed down the hallway up to where it dead-ends. You take the left hallway towards the left room, I'll go right."

Nadia nods. "Gotcha. Good luck." Tom smiles and gives Nadia a small peck on the lips. "You too." Marshall then reaches out and pats both Tom and Nadia on the shoulder, which startles them both a bit. Marshall, now startled as well, says "I just wanted to wish you two good luck as well...I won't give you two a kiss, but I thought a shoulder pat was appropriate...I think."

Tom nods a little unsure. "Uh...thanks. Just keep your radio dialed in." Marshall gives a timid smile and says "Gotcha...uh, I mean...strength and honor!" Tom raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. Marshall says "You're codename is Maximus, and strength and honor is what they said in Gladiator before battles! I guess that wasn't appropriate either..."

Tom smiles, then pats Marshall on the shoulder. "No, 'strength and honor' is what we said in Storm Crew before missions. Strength and honor, Marshall." Nadia then pats Tom on the shoulder and says, with a smirk "Strength and honor, Tom..."

Tom looks back at Nadia and smiles, then walks away with her towards one of the empty office buildings.

Tom and Nadia then jog up to a side door. Nadia grabs a lock pick out of her pocket and starts working on the lock on the handle while Tom keeps watch. Eventually, Nadia unlocks the door and opens it and enters. Tom follows.

They walk down the barren, empty small hallway. No lights are on, but it's not completely pitch black inside because of the light coming in from the outside windows. They get to the end of the hallway. Tom pins himself up on the right corner while Nadia stands on the left corner.

Tom peeks down Nadia's hallway and sees some light at the end of the hallway. He whispers "There's a light on at the end of your hallway." At the same time, Nadia whispers back "There's a light on down yours as well."

Tom sighs a bit, realizing they will have to split up after all and go after two targets instead of one. He says "Alright, let's proceed. If you see anything, let me know. I'll let you know if I see anything as well." Nadia nods, then turns and starts creeping down the left hallway. Tom follows suit and goes down the right hallway.

Tom slowly guides himself along the left wall. As he passes each door, he tests the doorknobs, but none of them open since they're locked. Finally, Tom gets to the end of the hallway and pins himself up on the corner. He slowly peeks around the corner and sees his light is actually a stand-up light. It looks like there's some remodeling going on down the hallway.

Still, the sight of paint buckets and ladders doesn't deter Tom, who creeps down the hallway and walks by the paint buckets, light, and ladder.

As he proceeds down the longer hallway, he hears Nadia whisper through his earpiece "Maximus, I've got something!" Tom stops in his tracks, puts his finger to his ear and whispers "Evergreen, what are you seeing?"

Through his earpiece, he hears Nadia whisper "I have two guards guarding one of the rooms we thought they'd be meeting in." Tom asks "Can you take them?" Nadia says "Maybe...wait, NO!"

Tom's eyes bug out. He gets back on his earpiece and frantically asks "Nadia, what is it?" He hears a grunt on the earpiece, followed by Nadia's fading voice. "They...shot me...with a dart..." Then nothing.

Tom starts making his way back down the remodeling hallway and posts back up on the corner he came from and looks around the corner. He sees a man at the end of the hallway he originally came from, looking down the hallway Nadia would be in. After a few seconds, he hears a LOUD squeal in his earpiece, followed again by silence.

Through his earpiece, Marshall says "They disabled Evergreen's earpiece. Maximus, what do you see?" Just as he says that, the man Tom sees starts turning in his direction, which causes Tom to quickly turn away from the corner. He whispers back on his earpiece "There's a man coming my way, about 30 feet away. Go radio silent..."

Tom stops and focuses in on the silence, trying to hear footsteps. After a few seconds, he starts hearing footsteps getting closer and closer. Tom slowly pulls out his gun that he had in a holster at his hip.

As the footsteps get closer and closer, Tom points his gun slowly, keeping his arm on the wall, waiting to blindside the man coming towards him.

However, another man has come from the other direction down the hallway and has noticed Tom. He yells out "HEY!" Tom quickly turns and sees the and starts firing down the hallway, forcing the man to hide behind the corner. He turns back around and turns the corner and quickly nails the guy that was coming down the hallway in the forehead.

Tom pins himself on the other side of the corner and looks down to the hall where Nadia was captured and sees two men coming towards him. Tom quickly turns around the corner and sees the man that discovered him peeking around the corner.

Seeing as he doesn't have many options, he turns back around and sees an office door with an opaque window. Quickly, he rushes the door and kicks it open with his right foot.

Inside the office room is nothing except for a closet off to the right that is closed. Tom quickly runs over to the closet door, opens it, and then slams it shut hard.. He then scampers and pins himself against the wall next to the open doorway that he just kicked open.

Tom keeps his back parallel to the wall and points his gun at the doorway. He quickly hears footsteps running towards him.

Suddenly, the man from the remodeled hallway comes rushing in and Tom shoots him in the side of his head right away. Tom then takes off for the other side of the door as bullets start flying through the wall that he was perched up on.

Tom gets around the kicked-in door and hides behind it. Tom looks left and sees the outside window is reflecting everything, including the open doorway.

He stares at the doorway via the outside window, waiting for someone to step in. Finally, after a few seconds, someone does. Tom quickly slams the door in the man's face and then starts shooting through the opaque window, killing the man that was in the doorway.

Now, it's just one on one...as far as he knows.

Quickly, Tom runs around the door and through the doorway. He starts blindly firing down the hallway, hitting the last remaining man, who was running away from Tom down the hallway.

The man falls over, but is not dead. Tom runs up to him and stands over him. He sees that he's shot in the left thigh and is trying to crawl away.

Tom watches the man try to squirm away and, with a cocky smirk, says "Where do you think you're going?" The man, who's breathing heavily in severe pain, says nothing.

Tom then squats down and sticks the barrel of his gun in the open wound on the left thigh and presses down hard, causing the man to scream in extreme pain. Tom, who looks like he's in his element giving this man torture, asks with an evil smirk on his face "You tell me where they took my partner, and how many men are holding her, and I'll end your misery."

The man, still screaming in pain, says "They took her to a room around the far corner, then to the left! It's the only room there! You killed everyone except Hans!" Tom nods his head, then stands up and fires a bullet into the back of the man's skull, killing him instantly. Tom just smirks and says "There, I ended your misery."

Tom then opens his magazine clip and sees he's now out of bullets from the firefight. Tom then stops and thinks for a second. How is he going to approach rescuing Nadia with no bullets?

Tom then stands up. The name "Hans" keeps flashing in his mind. Now, he realizes why...the villain in Die Hard was named 'Hans Gruber', and Die Hard was one of the movies he watched with Nadia over the weekend...only because she didn't get a Die Hard reference that Tom had made.

Then, he remembers something else. He runs around the corner and looks down the hallway that had the paint buckets and other remodeling stuff. He sees a roll of duct tape sitting on a bucket.

Tom smirks as he looks at his empty gun. He picks up a handgun from the guy he shot through the office window and asks himself "What would John McClane do?"

* * *

><p>Inside the small room she's being held captive in, Nadia regains consciousness. She blinks her eyes a few times, trying to get her orientation back. She realizes that she's sitting in a chair and tries to get up, but quickly finds out that her hands are tied behind the chair in a way she can't free herself from.<p>

She looks to the right and sees a small, orange Rambaldi ball spinning on an axis. Next to the table the ball is on is a tall, husky, middle-aged blonde man with glasses. The man looks over at Nadia and smiles, seeing that she's awake. In a thick Dutch accent, he says "Ah, good morning! I was wondering when you were going to wake up...I didn't think I put that much tranquilizer in that dart..."

Nadia returns the man's friendly look with an angry one. "What do you want with me?" The man chuckles a bit. "Before I answer that, allow me to introduce myself..." Nadia cuts him off. "I know who you are...you're Hans Janssen, a former Covenant mid-level associate who thinks he can run a terrorist organization."

This causes Hans to laugh. "Where, oh where, do you get your information? I mean, you at least got my name right, which I do appreciate. But I don't run any terrorist organizations!" Nadia just glares at him and says nothing. Hans, seeing as he's not going to get a retort from Nadia, goes back to what he was doing, which was filling a syringe.

Nadia notices the needle. "What are you going to do to me?" Hans looks back at her with a smirk. "One question at a time! I still haven't answered what I want from you."

Nadia, not breaking her angry stare, asks "I'm waiting..." Hans turns towards Nadia. "You're a part of a glorious prophecy...only, there's one flaw in it. See, you're supposed to fight your sister to the death, but from what we know about you, you wouldn't fight her willingly because you're close to her. That's where the contents of this needle come in!"

Nadia looks at the syringe again, repulsed. "What the hell is in that?" Hans walks up to Nadia's side. "Oh, don't worry, it's only tap water."

Hans leans over to inject the needle in Nadia's neck. Nadia tries to fidget and scoot her chair away.

Thankfully for her, Hans stops when Tom comes busting through the door.

Tom, pointing a gun at Hans, yells out "DROP THE NEEDLE, HANS!" Hans smiles and turns to the table the spinning ball is on. "As you wish..."

Hans sets the needle on the table with his right hand, while with his left hand, he reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a gun. He quickly spins around and points it back at Tom. Hans pulls back the hammer immediately. "Now, I've done what you asked, now it's my turn. Drop your gun, and let's talk this out like gentlemen."

Tom shakes his head slowly. "I'm not here for a chat. I'm here for Nadia. Let us walk out of here with our lives, and you'll get to live another day. How does that sound?" Hans chuckles. "That sounds quite lovely, actually. However, I'm under orders to inject this...beautiful woman with a needle-full of tap water and just see what happens."

Tom chuckles sarcastically at that. "That sounds like one of the stupidest things I've ever heard." Hans quickly retorts "On the surface, yes. However, if this needle does what I think it will do, we'll have a bargaining chip: the guaranteed winner of the great Rambaldi fight." Nadia angrily says "I'd never hurt Sydney."

Hans doesn't turn away from Tom, but tells Nadia "Not if you're completely consumed by anger, and unleashed on her like a wild pit bull." Tom looks repulsed at what Hans is saying. "Over my dead body."

Hans smiles. "Well, if we keep this stalemate up, that just might happen." Tom digests that comment for a bit, then responds with a smile of his own. "You know, I spoke to my dead mother this weekend. In a roundabout way, she told me that I'm going to die soon. Yeah, I know...I'm crazy right? Me, talking to someone from beyond the grave...that's impossible...but you're dreaming too if you think you're leaving with Nadia today."

With a defiant look on his face, Hans says "But, I will if it's over your dead body, right?" Tom shakes his head. "Not if I shoot first, Dutchboy."

Hans starts laughing. "I was one of the quickest shots in the Covenant, you won't stand a chance." Tom starts laughing back. "You want to know how fast my gun is? Ask the hundreds of dead Latino gangbangers I killed in the 1990's!" Nadia raises a surprised eyebrow at that. She knows Tom has alluded to his history in the past, but the 'hundreds' part surprises her still.

Hans shakes his head. "This talking is pointless. I tell you what, you lower your gun, and I'll lower mine, and we can discuss the man who sent me here." Tom tilts his head a bit. "Oh, so once a lackey, always a lackey? And here we thought you were the head of your little rag-tag group."

Hans laughs. "Oh no! I'm not the leader, but I do have the ear of my boss. Look, I'm lowering my gun..." Hans does lower his gun. Tom waits for Hans to get the gun to his waist, and then follows suit by lowering his gun to his. Tom then asks "Ok, so who's your boss?"

Hans gives Tom a wide smirk. "Drop your gun and I will tell you." Nadia says "Tom, don't!" Tom looks over at Nadia for a second, then back at Hans. He sighs and drops his gun to the ground, just in front of his feet.

Hans smiles at that. "Very well. I am a man of my word. My boss is Arvin Sloane."

Tom's jaw drops a bit, as does Nadia's. Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "That's impossible, he's MY boss." Hans shakes his head. "I don't know what gives you that impression. Anyway, I just saw him this morning. Did you see Arvin today?"

Tom looks away in disbelief. He actually hadn't seen Sloane at the office this morning...not that he was looking for him anyway. In the meantime, Hans points the gun back at the now-unarmed and mentally-distracted Tom. "Now, hands behind your head." Tom turns back to Hans and slowly raises his hands and puts them behind his head. He sarcastically tells Hans "As you wish..."

Hans smiles wide as he turns back to get his needle. "Now, if you excuse me..." Tom cuts him off. "Hang on a sec, Hans. There's something you should know about me."

Hans stops turning to pick up the needle and returns his focus back on Tom. "I'm listening..." Tom smirks. "Hans, it's clear you don't know much about me...except for my penchant for killing Latin American gang members. Four years ago, I was in a similar predicament like this...gun pointed at my head...completely dead to rights. And who is there to kill my captors and save my life?" Tom looks back over at Nadia and smiles. "Nadia Santos, my Argentinian angel." Nadia cracks a small smile, but is wondering where he's going with this.

Tom looks back over at Hans. "After that day, I swore her a life debt. I promised her I'd save her from a similar situation one day, and I would gladly risk my life to do it. And now that I'm madly in love with Nadia, I now have a greater incentive to try to save her life." As he says that, we scan around to the back of Tom's head...and we see Tom's hand slide down and grab a gun that he has duct-taped to the top of his back. Hans does not notice this.

Tom continues. "Well, it would appear that we are in a situation where I might be able to repay that life debt finally. And if my mom was right, you're probably going to kill me right here and right now. But know this...even though I won't get to spend any more time with the love of my life, that's ok, because I will have fulfilled the one promise I had left to fulfill to anyone on this planet, and that's because I'm going to take you to hell with me. Now, let's do this dance."

Hans draws his gun, but Tom suddenly kicks his dropped gun towards Hans, which causes Hans to look down at it. As he does, Tom quickly tears off the gun on his back and points it at Hans. Hans looks up just in time for Tom to fire a shot at his head.

The shot is true. It hits Hans in the forehead and sends him flying back, knocking the table with the needle and Rambaldi ball over. The ball falls to the ground and disintegrates in a watery explosion.

Unfortunately for Tom, right after he shot at Hans, Hans was able to react quickly and get a shot off himself before getting hit by Tom's bullet.

Hans' shot went into the right side of Tom's neck.

Tom falls to the ground and screams in pain as he grabs the right side of his neck, which is now spewing out blood. Nadia screams in horror, seeing Tom has taken a shot in a very bad place.

In his earpiece, Tom hears Marshall ask "Maximus, what happened?" Tom, now breathing through his teeth, which are clinched tightly because of the pain, says "I've been shot...I'm going to...rescue Evergreen now...get me to the hospital..."

Holding his neck with his right hand, he slowly crawls his way over to Nadia, who looks completely mortified seeing Tom holding his bloody neck with a now-bloody right hand.

Tom eventually makes it over to the side of Nadia and reaches into his left pocket with his left hand. He pulls out his Mayan pocket knife and cuts Nadia's bonds free. Then, he exhales and lies flat on his back, looking up.

Nadia springs up and squats down over Tom. She carefully pulls Tom's hand away. She turns away and winces, seeing the bullet hole in his neck, along with a steady stream of blood flowing out.

Tom is now breathing very heavily, trying his best to stay alive. However, both of them realize that this wound might be fatal.

Tom quickly clamps his hand on his neck again, trying to block the bloodflow somehow. As he does, Marshall comes running in and looks in horror as he sees Tom fighting for his life, with Nadia hovering over him. "Oh no..." is all he can let out as he stands there frozen in horror. Nadia turns and frantically asks "Quick, help me get him on this rolling chair. We have to get him out of here and to the hospital...he's dying!"

Marshall, still terrified, quickly nods and scampers over. Nadia looks down at Tom and asks "Can you sit up?" Tom, just staring into the ceiling and focused on the hole in his neck, looks at Nadia and gives her the smallest of nods. He leans up.

Nadia and Marshall each prop a hand under his shoulders and, using all their strength, pull him up off the ground and sit him on the rolling chair.

Nadia then gets behind the chair and starts pushing Tom out. Marshall runs ahead and yells "I'll get the back door opened and the van started!"

* * *

><p>Nadia pushes a struggling Tom outside the side door they came in at and down the alleyway.<p>

She rounds the corner and sees Marshall's van wide open in the back. Marshall leaps out of the back of the van and tells Nadia "Let's get him on the table...I know it's not the most comfortable..." Nadia is not in the mood for Marshall's ramblings at the moment and yells "Fine! Just help me lift him up!"

Nadia pushes Tom to the back of the van. Marshall reaches under Tom's shoulders and bearhugs him while Nadia grabs Tom's legs. Together, they lift him up off the chair and step up in the van. They make it to the former computer table and lie Tom down on it. Nadia then yells at Marshall "Drive! Get us to the nearest hospital!"

Marshall nods very nervously and closes the back doors and runs to the driver's seat and takes off in the van.

In the back, Nadia stands over Tom and assesses the situation. Tom's eyes are now barely open, but he is still breathing. Nadia closes her eyes and more tears stream down her face. She knows he's in deep, deep trouble. Meanwhile, Marshall has started driving.

Nadia then grabs Tom's right hand and lowers it. Blood starts to gush out of Tom's neck. Nadia lets go and quickly scrambles into a bag and finds a first aid kit. She finds large tweezers inside and pulls them out.

Nadia stands back up and looks into Tom's fading eyes and says "I'm going to get the bullet out...this will hurt. I'm sorry." Nadia then sticks the tweezers into Tom's hole in his neck.

This causes Tom's eyes to open up wide. He gurgles and grunts a bit in pain. Nadia strokes Tom's forehead with her free hand and says "I know it hurts, but I have to stop the bleeding."

Nadia does some digging and eventually pulls the bullet out. This causes even more blood to stream out of Tom's neck. Nadia quickly tosses the tweezers and bullet off to the side and plugs her finger into Tom's neck, trying to stop the bleeding. This causes Tom's eyes to bug out again in pain.

Tom now slowly turns his gaze over at Nadia. As he looks into her eyes, his eyes start to water. As he clings more and more tenuously to life, it's starting to sink in that these are going to be the last moments he has with Nadia. He manages to say through the tears "Nadia...I'm a goner..."

Nadia exhales quickly, now crying herself. With her free hand, she wipes the tears from Tom's eyes. "No you're not, save your strength..." As she is wiping his tears away, Tom grabs Nadia's wrist gently and presses her palm into his face. He leans his head into her open palm, wanting to feel her gentle touch for one last time. The tears flow once again from his eyes.

Marshall hits a bump, which causes Tom to bounce a bit as well as Nadia. Nadia yells out "Marshall!" Marshall yells back "I'm sorry! That pothole snuck up on me...we're almost to the hospital."

While that's going on, Tom's eyes roll to the back of his head. Everything goes dark...and then light again as Nadia shakes him awake. She yells "Please! Stay with me!"

Tom's eyes open wide again and he looks back at Nadia. No longer crying and in full acceptance of his fate, Tom swallows some blood that has entered his throat and says with what little strength he has left "The life debt...it's been fulfilled. I promised...to sacrifice...my life for you...if that's what it required...and I have." Nadia frantically starts shaking her head. "No! You're going to make it! Don't say this!"

Tom, who is still holding Nadia's left arm throughout all of this, pulls it towards his mouth. He kisses Nadia's hand and says "Thank you...for giving me peace...I love you so much..."

Nadia says "I love you too! We're going to get through this, it's not your time yet!" Marshall then yells "We're at the hospital!"

Nadia turns to look at Marshall. Relief washes over her face. She whispers "There's still hope..."

Unfortunately for her, Tom has rolled his eyes to the back of his head again.

Darkness washes over Tom. And then..._a bright blue light._

_The light fades away after a few seconds and now, Tom finds himself standing behind a familiar house. His house...the one he grew up in rural Missouri. He's in the backyard. The swing-set from his childhood is there, and behind the swing-set is the woods...the woods he grew up in. Everything around him is the same as it was as he was growing up...except, it all has a blueish-tint._

All of the sudden, Tom is jerked back awake by a frantic Nadia, who yells "We're here, Tom! They're going to patch you up! Everything's going turn out ok!"

Tom looks down as he sees he's now being wheeled in a gurney by a team of doctors. He hears them yelling something, but their voices now seem so distant...

He also sees Nadia running along side of him with a frightened look on her face.

Suddenly, a doctor holds her back. As she screams "TOM!", he shifts to get one last look at Nadia, but his head is forced back by a doctor or nurse...and his eyes roll back in his head.

_He's back home. He starts walking around to the front of the small, brick home. In the driveway, he sees an old blue Cadillac...like the one he used to ride around in growing up. And then, at the end of the driveway, he sees a woman...talking to a robed man on a horse..._

He's jerked awake again by his body being set on a hospital bed from the gurney. He feels hands on the right side of his neck. He turns his eyes and sees a nurse standing over him, applying pressure and saying something about 'can't stop the bleeding'.

At that moment, he feels his heart race. His breathing becomes quick and uncontrolled...he can literally feel the life escaping from his body...like it's being pulled away from him...

And then he closes his eyes and exhales. His body relaxes. The heart monitor flatlines. He no longer has a pulse, and there is no more blood pressure.

Tom is dead.

* * *

><p><em><strong>?<strong>_

Tom returns to the spot he last left in this blue world he's in now, near the front of his driveway. He looks up to the sky and sees even the Sun is blue, and not it's usual bright yellow.

He walks forward, passing a picnic table to his right and the house to his left. As he does, he sees a bright white flash. He closes his eyes until the flash goes away, then opens his eyes and realizes he's still here.

Once he regains his bearings, Tom looks down to the end of the driveway and sees the robed man on the horse start to gallop away.

Another bright white flash. Tom wonders where it's coming from...then, he feels his chest. He now realized that he feels an electrical shock go through his chest each time he sees the flash.

Tom regains his bearings again and sees the woman start to walk towards his direction.

Another flash. Another feeling of electricity. The jolts are getting stronger and stronger. But, he's still there.

The woman keeps walking in his direction. He sees that she has a wide smile on her face and is wearing a long, flowery summer dress, like something out of the late 60's or early 70's.

And yet another flash happens. Another jolt of electricity. Tom almost feels himself being pulled away from...well, wherever he is, but he's still there in the end.

The woman now finishes walking and stands about 5 feet in front of him. We now see that she is probably in her late 30's or early 40's, has shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and stands a few inches shorter than Tom. Tom examines her and realizes who he's looking at.

His jaw drops. He can't believe what he's seeing. Finally, Tom musters one, solitary word...

"Mom?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	15. Ch 14: Mother Knows Best

**MOTHER KNOWS BEST**

_Timeline of chapter: Still between Season 4, Episodes 14 and 15_

* * *

><p><em><strong>?<strong>_

He still can't believe what he's seeing.

Standing there, right there, 5 feet in front of his face, is his mother...the mother he never got to know because she died in a car wreck when he was just a baby. Tom, still in his black outfit from his mission before he died, has only seen his mother in pictures, but now, in this unknown blue world they are in, she's here. She's really here.

After Tom asks "Mom?" at the end of the last chapter, Mary, with a wide grin on her face, says "My baby boy..." As she says that, the 5'5, slender late 30's/early 40's woman, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes, starts walking towards the 5'9, early 30's Tom.

Tom steps back a bit, a little afraid. Mary keeps walking and, still with a wide grin, says "Don't be afraid."

Tom stops and lets Mary embrace him. The hug feels very real, even though he knows that he's not on Earth, but in some blue replica of Earth. He eventually responds by hugging Mary back.

Now that he's convinced, he squeezes her a bit. "I can't believe this is happening..." Mary releases the hug, then reaches up with both hands and places them on his cheeks. "I've looked forward to this day for so long. There's so much I've wanted to tell you."

Tom, who's had a somewhat dumbfounded look on his face this whole time, cracks a small smirk. "I can think of a few hundred things I'd like to ask you as well." Mary smiles at that as she lets go of Tom's face, then looks over to her left at the picnic table. "Surely, you remember this..."

Tom looks right at the picnic table with her and cracks a small smile. "Yeah, I built that with Grandpa Ed and my brother Eddie." Mary starts walking over to the table and sits down on her side, then motions Tom to sit across from her.

After Tom walks over and sits down, he starts to get comfortable and starts observing his surroundings more. "Am I really back in good ol' Bunker, Missouri?" Mary starts laughing. "Oh no! This isn't home, but it sure looks like it, doesn't it?"

Tom stops looking around and looks at Mary. "So, is this heaven?" Mary looks up and starts looking around. "You know, they really don't have a name for this place. I've heard 'afterlife' used before..." Mary then looks back at Tom. "The beauty of where we are is that this place is _whatever_ you want it to be. You can be wherever, whenever, and however you want. I just chose to make home where I want to be. However, when I died, when your dad died, when your brother died...home is where we went."

Tom cracks a smirk. "So, if I wanted to live on beachfront property somewhere, I can?" Mary laughs a bit. "Yeah, you sure can! And I figured you'd say that. I heard you describing where you'd like to take Nadia the other night...I remember you always liked San Felipe."

Tom hangs his head and has a look of sadness on his face. "I wish I could have fulfilled that dream..." Mary reaches over and rubs Tom's hand. "You love Nadia so much. I can just tell. And I'm happy you two found each other, because she's just as crazy about you. I really like her! In fact, I like her much better than that backstabbing bitch you were with all those years!"

Tom cocks his head a bit, a bit surprised at his mom's sailor mouth. "You're talking about Kate?" Mary sighs and rolls her eyes. "Yes, that one. I always knew she was going end up stabbing you in the back. I never liked her, and I really hated her mother when I was alive. Kate was just a chip off the ol' block."

Tom leans forward. "You know, my time with Kate wasn't all that bad..." Mary looks down. "If you only knew about what she was doing to you behind your back...I saw it all."

Tom gives her an inquisitive expression. "What did she do?" Mary shakes her head. "Some things shouldn't be said..."

Tom slaps his hands on the table and leans back frustrated. "Mom, don't do this to me. What do you know about Kate?" Mary sighs. "She used you. She wanted the big city life and you were her way out of the sticks. Unfortunately, you were away from her for so long on your missions...you really didn't know what she did in her spare time. All I'm going to say is...I was rooting for you SO BAD when you met Nadia in 2001...you two were so adorable together! I was hoping you would have asked her out and moved on from Kate. Because by the time you met Nadia for the first time, Kate had already screwed around with another man behind your back."

Tom's jaw drops. He looks down at the table and shakes his head in disbelief. "So, that's why she became so venomous towards me when we got to Baltimore." Mary just nods her head slowly. "Yep. She had something going with a guy in Los Angeles before you moved to Maryland. Now, don't get me wrong...Kate still liked you and all, and she decided coming with you was the right move...but at the same time, she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, if you know what I mean. It's funny...your double life troubled you so much, but yet, here was Kate living one of her own."

Tom lets out a deep sigh as his eyes furrow a bit. "Mom, you could have told me..." Mary shakes her head. "No. You had to figure things out by yourself. You were a grown man. Besides, I didn't know how to communicate with you until recently."

Tom rolls his eyes. "Yet, you felt the need to use these new-found speaking abilities to tell me I'm a dead man on one of the best nights of my freaking life. You think that's fair?" Mary looks down. "I'm sorry I did that, now that I think about it. But, I knew you'd be coming and I was just so excited to see my son. I also wanted to tell you about someone that dropped by here recently."

Tom leans forward. "Who?" Mary smiles as she says "Your friend from Storm Crew, Chris Cooper."

Tom sits up quickly. "Chris? My goodness, how is he?" Mary just laughs. "Just as happy-go-lucky as ever! Anyway, he saw you talking on the plane with Sydney, Nadia, and Vaughn about the Torino mission, and how you've asked for forgiveness every single day since then. Well, he wanted to ask me to tell you that you were forgiven a long time ago."

Tom closes his eyes. "He really said that?" Mary nods and grabs Tom's hand. "Yeah, he understands that what happened was an accident. He felt bad that you beat yourself up over it for so long."

Tom just nods his head, but doesn't say anything. All of the sudden, he realizes something. "Hey, you said my dad and brother are here. Are they around?" Mary shakes her head. "No. I sent them into town for groceries before you arrived."

Tom sighs. "I would have liked to have seen my brother again...Dad...whatever." Mary looks down and lets out a disappointed sigh. "It always bothered me how much you hated your father. You let that hate completely consume you..."

Tom fires back angrily. "How else was I supposed to feel? The man did not make one effort to raise me, or my brother!" Mary looks back up at Tom. "I know. But, at the end of his life, when he finally sorted things out...he realized what he did, and he regretted it until the end of his days."

Tom just shakes his head, then looks back at Mary. "You know, I always took pride in the fact that I look almost exactly like you. I loved you growing up, even though I never got to know you. I think that's why I was so angry when I was a kid...angry that my dad got to live and you died." Mary smiles. "I know. But like I told you the other night, I'm so happy with the man you've become, especially with everything you've gone through."

Tom nods, then thinks of something else that's been gnawing at him since he arrived in...wherever this place is. "I have to admit...I thought I'd be seeing an old lady when I came up here." Mary busts out laughing. "Thomas Loren Falk! You're crazy!"

Tom looks astonished that she'd laugh. "Well, I wasn't expecting someone that, MAYBE, is 10 years older than me." Mary stops laughing. "What you see is how I looked the day I died...just like how you look like how you were when you died. We can change our looks whenever we want, but I always liked this dress, so I just kept it."

Tom smiles. "It looks good on you, Mom." Mary smiles back. "Thank you! Your dad and your brother NEVER compliment me!"

Tom laughs a bit, then looks down at his right arm and sees he still has his scar there. "Can I get rid of these god-awful scars?" Mary smiles. "You sure can! But...I'll show you how to do that another time."

Tom gets a serious look on his face and leans forward. "Ok, so you've seen everything that's happened to me in my life. Let me ask you...when was I injected with 'The Connection'?" Mary's smile disappears. She looks down and looks afraid to answer.

Tom leans forward and puts his right hand on her right hand gently. "Mom, it's ok. I can take it. It's just driven me crazy...I can't think of when this could have happened." Mary looks back up at Tom. "Do you remember the big meth bust you helped lead when you were a Bunker police officer?"

Tom chuckles a bit. "How can I forget that? That's how the CIA noticed me." Mary sighs. "That's also how Elena Derevko noticed you."

Tom's jaw drops a bit. "What? How?" Mary says "Your picture was in USA Today. Your bust made national headlines because it was the largest bust in Missouri history. In this picture, you were standing there in the cellar, standing in front of thousands of bricks of meth. You had the biggest, cockiest grin on your face...it still makes me laugh. Anyway, you were injected not too long after that picture was taken."

Tom thinks for a bit, but still doesn't seem convinced. "When?" Mary quickly answers "You and your police friends held a party one night. You fell asleep, and your friends dragged you into the woods on the couch you were lying on and just left you there as a prank. Anyway, while you were passed out, Derevko snuck up and injected you in your neck. To make sure you didn't wake up, she put a rag of Chloroform on your mouth while she did it. You didn't suspect a thing..."

Tom shakes his head. "I thought I had a spider bite on my neck the next morning, but I didn't feel any different...just a bit embarrassed that I was out there in the woods by myself!" Mary chuckles a bit. "I'll always remember that day because that's the day you got the call from Eduardo Munoz with the CIA Anti-Cartel."

Tom sighs. "I thought for sure I was going to hell because of what I did in the Anti-Cartel..." Mary cuts him off. "You had me worried there for a while, especially after what happened to your friend, Matt Aguero."

Tom flashes her an angry look. "Mom, I've made a vow to never even THINK about all that transpired with Matt...please don't bring his name up again. Too many bad memories..." Mary nods her head quickly, understanding she crossed a line. "I'm sorry. I just know that's the real reason you were literally called 'the Falcon Devil'."

Tom shakes his head in dismay, then looks out to the driveway. "So, who was that guy you were talking to on the horse?" Mary shakes her head back. "I can't say..."

Tom flashes her a curious look. "Uh, why?" Mary looks at Tom with a bit of a frown. "Because he asked me not to tell you."

Tom lets out a disappointed chuckle, shakes his head, then asks "Ok, what did you two talk about?" Mary smiles back. "We were talking how you're going to come back to life."

Tom stands up quickly stunned. "What? I'm going back?" Mary nods as she stands up. "Yes. You can't stay here. Nadia was right in the van...it's not your time yet."

Tom starts pacing in disbelief. "Mom, I'm pretty sure my carotid artery is completely severed..." Mary says "Not completely, but that's not important. The point is you still have a purpose to fulfill in life."

Tom stops pacing and looks back at Mary. "What? What purpose? I fulfilled the one promise I had left to keep: I paid Nadia back for saving my life in 2001." Mary laughs. "Come on, Tommy! You know that you had so much more you wanted to accomplish with her. And you're going to get that chance. You two are special."

Tom rolls his eyes. "I know...'The Connection'..." Mary shakes her head. "Not just that. I'm referring to what ELSE flows in your veins."

Tom looks really curious now. "You know what the other anomaly is?" Mary thinks, then says "Well, the man on the horse did. He had just told me before you arrived."

Tom walks up and stands directly in front of his mom's face. "Mom, tell me...what does this anomaly do?" Mary smiles, and as she goes to say something, her alarm clock on her watch starts beeping. She raises her eyebrows surprised. "Oh, we better get to the hospital..."

Tom now looks confused. "What hospital?" Mary looks up and says "The one where you're lying dead in right now. I have to show you something."

Before Tom can respond, Mary grabs Tom's hand and a bright blue light flashes.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Los Angeles (in the real world)<strong>_

Tom and Mary appear in the waiting room at the hospital. Tom looks around and surveys his surroundings. He immediately sees an emotionally distraught Nadia sitting on a chair, leaning forward and looking very tense. Sydney has now arrived and sitting next to her, is trying to keep her calm.

Tom looks over at Mary. "Can they see and hear us?" Mary looks at Tom and shakes her head. "No. We're invisible and inaudible to them."

Tom quickly asks "How were you able to talk to me?" Mary shakes her head. "I could teach you, but it would take a lot of time...time we don't have."

Just as she says that, a female doctor with blood on her gloves and hospital garb walks up to Sydney and Nadia. Nadia shoots out of her seat and asks "Is Tom ok?"

The doctor looks down. "We couldn't stop the bleeding. His heart gave out. I'm sorry, he's gone."

Nadia then falls to her knees and starts sobbing uncontrollably, screaming "NOOO!"

Sydney quickly scrambles over to console her, but it's not effective. Meanwhile, Tom just closes his eyes. "This hurts to watch..." Mary pats Tom on the shoulder. "Don't worry, this is only temporary."

Nadia, after a few seconds, stops crying long enough to get back to her feet. She asks the doctor "Can I see him? I just want to say goodbye..." The doctor nods her head. "Sure, right this way."

Nadia and Sydney follow the doctor down the hallway. Tom and Mary, still invisible to them, also follow along.

* * *

><p>In Tom's hospital room, we see Tom's body lying dead on the hospital bed. His neck is still a mess, but he otherwise looks peaceful. Nadia walks up to Tom's dead body slowly while Sydney waits outside the hospital room with the doctor.<p>

Afterlife Tom and Mary walk in to the room and stand next to Nadia as she grabs real-life Tom's dead hand. With tears still very present in her eyes, she says "I miss you so much already...we still had so much more to live for..."

Afterlife Tom asks Mary "When can I go back? I can't take this..." Mary looks back over at afterlife Tom and says "I have to tell Nadia how to save you first."

Afterlife Tom shakes his head. "You can talk to her, too?" Mary smiles. "Yes. That nice, old man on the horse tells me I can talk to any of my children as well as Irina Derevko and her children."

A confused Afterlife Tom asks "Huh? Why them?" Mary shakes her head. "He wouldn't say. Anyway, when you get back to life, give Karen a call. I'd like you to ask your sister to give you the engagement ring your dad gave me."

Afterlife Tom shrugs. "Uh, why?" Mary smiles. "Because I'd be honored if you gave the ring to Nadia when you proposed to her."

Afterlife Tom starts laughing. "I think it's a little early for wedding bells, Mom!" Mary shakes her head. "Tom, is there any doubt that this is the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with?"

Afterlife Tom looks down at the floor. "You have a point there." Mary then says "Now, this part is important. When I'm done talking to Nadia, all you have to do is lie down on your body. You'll be absorbed back into it and have life again. Just do it at my signal."

Afterlife Tom nods his head. Mary then walks over and stands to the left of Nadia.

Mary leans in and whispers in to the left ear of a sobbing Nadia. "_Nadia..."_

Nadia's eyes bug out a bit and she stops sobbing. She turns around and looks outside the door. She sees Sydney is talking with the doctor and not paying attention to them. Mary says _"Nadia, this is Mary, Tom's mother."_

Nadia turns back and looks back at real-life Tom in disbelief. Her lip quivering a bit, she whispers "Why...why did you take my best friend away from me?"

Mary smiles and says "_My son died so I could show you both what you each carry in your bloodstream. You two share 'The Connection' as well as another agent in your body called 'The Lifeforce' that allows you to heal each other in times of crisis like this."_

Nadia's jaw drops, surprised that there might be hope for Tom. Afterlife Tom flashes a similar surprised look, now that he knows just what that other anomaly is.

Nadia, still struggling with her emotions, asks "I...I can bring him back to life?" Mary quickly replies "_No. But, in a few seconds, my son is going to come back to life on his own. You'll only have a window of about 20 minutes, so you need to act quickly. You need to convince the doctor outside the door that Tom needs a blood transfusion from you. You both are B-negative, and you can save time by giving Tom your blood right here and now. Tell her that, and she should believe you. Sydney too. Trust me."_

Nadia, still looking at real-life Tom as all of this is happening, asks "What's going to happen when he starts getting my blood?" Mary smiles. "_Well, you're going to see something amazing happen. But give him some time, he's still going to be in coma for a few days once the healing is done."_

Nadia wipes away the tears on her face and looks relieved. "Thank you for telling me this. And thank you for giving back the best thing that ever happened to me...your son." Mary smiles. _"Of course. You make Tom so happy. I'm so glad you two found each other. Oh, and a little advice...his feet are extremely ticklish!"_

Nadia suddenly laughs loudly, which causes Sydney and the doctor to look into the room a little conspicuously. Meanwhile, afterlife Tom gives his Mom an irritated look. "MOM! You traitor!" Mary gives Tom a wide, sarcastic grin. "Well, you ARE ticklish in your feet! You would laugh your little butt off when I ticked your feet when you were a baby!"

Sydney and the doctor start walking into the room. The doctor tells Nadia "Ok, we have to take him away now..." Nadia looks back and shakes her head quickly. "No! He's coming back!"

Sydney walks up to Nadia and puts her hand on her shoulder. "Nadia, Tom's gone. I know it's hard to let go..." With a frantic look on her face, Nadia quickly stands up. "No! He's coming back, and I can save him!"

Mary then looks over at afterlife Tom. "You might want to jump in now." Afterlife Tom smiles. "Thanks. I love you, Mom. Hopefully I don't see you again for a while." Mary smiles. "You won't...and I love you too. Now, go!"

And with that, the spirit of Tom Falk jumps back into the dead Tom Falk. Mary then fades away from our view.

As Sydney and the doctor try to convince Nadia to leave Tom, all of the sudden, something that they weren't expecting happened...

They hear a heartbeat on Tom's heart monitor. And then another. And another...

The doctor looks over quickly at the monitor. As she does, Tom suddenly takes a deep breath, his first physical sign of life since he died. However he remains unconscious. Blood also starts to flow from the bullet hole in his neck.

As the doctor and Sydney stand there trying to figure out what is going on, Nadia pleads with the doctor. "I need to give him a blood transfusion! We're both B-negative, and he won't make it unless he gets the blood he needs right now!"

The doctor looks at Nadia astonished. "Well, he has lost a lot of blood, but it's all pointless if that hole in his neck isn't plugged. Plus, if he's to have any chance, he needs to be sent into surgery." Sydney then says "He still could use the blood now. I'll plug the hole while Nadia gives Tom blood to at least get him going."

The doctor looks back at Tom, still dumbfounded that Tom has returned after about 10 minutes of being dead without any attempt at resuscitation. Eventually, she just throws her hands up. "Alright, let's do it."

Nadia walks over and pulls a chair over next to Tom's bedside while the doctor and Sydney wash off their hands.

Sydney and the doctor dry off their hands and grab some rubber gloves. Then, they start to grab gauze pads and the things they need for a blood transfusion.

As they do that, Nadia sits down and holds Tom's hand. Smiling, she says "I can't wait to see you again...I knew there was more in store for us."

Sydney and the doctor rush over. Sydney grips a pad of gauze in some tongs and gently presses it into Tom's bullet hole. Meanwhile, the doctor rubs alcohol on the inside of Nadia's left elbow.

The doctor then hangs an empty blood bag that has two tubes coming out of it. As she does that, she looks over at Tom's heart monitor and sighs. "We need to get this going now. I'll need to fill the bag first. That could take about 10 minutes. I'm not sure he has that long..." Nadia quickly replies "He'll make it...I know he will."

Sydney looks at her a little funny. Nadia seems a little...TOO convinced of Tom's odds. But, she quickly snaps out of it as she grabs another gauze pad from the tray next to her. She quickly pulls out the blood-soaked gauze pad in Tom's neck and replaces it with the clean pad and puts it back in the hole.

Meanwhile, the doctor takes one of the tubes from the blood bag and attaches a needle at the end of it. Then, she leans over and inserts it into Nadia's left elbow. Immediately, blood starts funneling out of Nadia's vein into the tube and starts filling the bag.

The doctor watches the blood transfer take place and nods in satisfaction. "Ok, you have a very good rate of flow. I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm going to prep him for surgery." Nadia just nods, even though she knows that surgery won't be necessary.

The doctor walks out of the hospital room, leaving Sydney and Nadia in there with Tom. Nadia looks back at Tom and grabs his hand again. "Hang in there...you're going to be ok. I know you will."

* * *

><p>About 8 minutes later, the doctor walks back in. By now, the bag is basically full. The doctor looks over at Tom's heart monitor and looks somewhat surprised. "Hmm, not much change. Good job plugging the hole, Sydney." Sydney just cracks a small smile.<p>

The doctor reaches down and pulls the needle out of Nadia's elbow, then puts a cotton ball on it and tapes it up. She then grabs an alcohol pad and rubs the inside of Tom's right elbow. She grabs the other tube coming from the now-filled blood bag, attaches a needle at the end, and then sticks it into Tom's right elbow.

The doctor stands back and looks at the blood bag. She sees the blood is now flowing into Tom's body.

Satisfied, she grabs some of Sydney's used up gauze pads and walks away to toss them out. Meanwhile, Nadia just watches on hopefully as Tom's rapid pulse starts to slow down somewhat.

Sydney decides it's time to change her pad, so she pulls her pad out of Tom's neck. Now without any fresh pads, she walks over to where the doctor is near the sink and grabs a pad from a box on the table.

Sydney walks back and puts the pad in between the tongs and reaches down to plug the hole again.

Only...there's no longer a hole in his neck to plug.

Sydney leans back suddenly in shock. "Doctor!" The doctor rushes over from the sink while Nadia leans in and sees that there is now a round spot of untouched skin where the bullet hole was, surrounded by dried blood all around his neck.

The doctor looks at the spot where the hole used to be and just drops her jaw. "I...I don't...how?"

Meanwhile, Nadia looks down at Tom's right elbow...but then, something else catches her eye. Nadia, still looking at Tom's right arm, says "Sydney! Doctor! Look at his scar!"

Sydney and the doctor look at Tom's arm and see that his long Project Alloy scar on his right arm is fading away. The doctor just can't believe her eyes at what she's seeing. Sydney, also in some disbelief, then looks up at Nadia. "I wonder if the scars on the rest of his body are fading too..."

With that, the doctor quickly runs over to the other side of the room, where the sink is, and grabs a pair of scissors. She runs back over and starts cutting down the middle of the front of Tom's shirt. She then cuts the shirt from the collar to the end of his sleeve and flips the shirt off of Tom.

She looks at Tom's upper body. She doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She then turns back to Nadia in a look of surprised confusion. "There were scars here?"

Nadia and Sydney look at what the doctor just looked at. There's no longer any evidence of Tom's Project Alloy scars on his upper body. The scar on his arm has also finished fading away.

Nadia holds her hand to her mouth and sits down in disbelief. With her hand still over her mouth, she utters "Mary...you were right. This is amazing..."

Sydney and the doctor heard what she said and look at her suspiciously.

Meanwhile, Nadia hears a familiar voice. "_I knew you would come through, Nadia. Good job. I would be so proud to call you my daughter-in-law. And that day might come before you know it..."_

A smile forms and tears start to stream from Nadia's eyes after she hears what Mary just had to say. Sydney, thinking that the miracles that are happening are starting to sink in for her sister, walks over to Nadia and gives her a hug.

Meanwhile, the doctor looks at Tom's heart monitor again and just shakes her head at what she's seeing. "This is completely unbelievable. His pulse is normalizing...his heart-rate is stabilizing...his blood-pressure is improving...his neck is fine...his scars are gone...I just can't believe this." The doctor then walks out of the room, not sure what to make of what she's seen.

Sydney releases the hug from Nadia and now also sports a look like she understands what's going on now. "This is from one of your anomalies, right?" Nadia wipes the happy tears she streamed and looks up at Sydney with a smile. "Yes! The anomaly that our bodies create naturally can heal each other from even the worst wounds. Apparently, it's called 'The Lifeforce'."

Sydney folds her arms and has a curious look on her face. "How do you know? I thought the doctors were still stumped on what that anomaly even does." Nadia then looks back at Tom with a confident smirk on her face. While looking at him, she tells Sydney "His mother told me."

Now Sydney is completely stumped. "What? Tom's mother is dead." Nadia looks back at Sydney with that confident smirk. "I talked to her while you were in the hallway. She talked to Tom a couple nights ago and predicted Tom would die soon. And today, she told me what to do before Tom returned to life."

Sydney just shakes her head in total disbelief. "Nadia, that's...insane. You can't talk to the dead...that's just not possible." Nadia shakes her head slowly. "After today, I believe anything is possible now."

Sydney digests that comment for a bit. After a few seconds, her cell phone rings and she answers. "Hey, Tom's alive. He's going to make it." Back at APO, Jack quickly responds "He's what? I just got a call from the hospital that he was dead!"

As she's on the phone, she looks back down at Nadia, who's now back to watching over Tom. Sydney just responds "Dad...something amazing happened today. Nadia saved his life...in fact, I think you should talk to her about it." Nadia looks up at Sydney and says "I want to stay with Tom for a little while."

Jack, hearing Nadia from a distance on the phone, tells Sydney "Alright, I'll head in to the hospital and I'll de-brief her there. I should be there in about a half-hour." Jack then hangs up the phone and looks across the table, where Sloane is sitting. Jack blankly says "Tom's alive, and apparently, your daughter had something to do with it."

Sloane raises his eyebrows. "What did she do?" Jack looks down at the table. "Sydney did not say. But I have a suspicion. I need to talk to her to confirm it."

Sloane stands up. "I'm going with you. I want to hear this myself." Jack stands up quickly. "Sloane, you shouldn't..."

Sloane defiantly asks "And why shouldn't I hear what my daughter has to say? My agent DIED and somehow, thanks to my Nadia, he's alive again...back from the dead. I want to know why." Jack looks at Sloane blankly and thinks about what he's about to say.

Finally, he says it. "I think Rambaldi just saved Tom's life."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	16. Ch 15: They'll Think We're Crazy

**THEY'LL THINK WE'RE CRAZY**

_Timeline of chapter: Starts between Season 4, Episode 14 and 15_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's hospital room<strong>_

Tom continues to lie peacefully in his hospital bed. He has an IV hooked up to his arm and an oxygen mask over his mouth. His heart is back to having a fairly normal rhythm, now being helped by another blood bag being transfused into him. His body doesn't look as pale as it once did, either.

Meanwhile, Sydney and Nadia are standing near the door, discussing what just transpired about 30 minutes ago. Sydney asks "My dad is going to be here any minute. How do we handle this?" Nadia shakes her head and looks at her confused. "What do you mean? We'll tell him what happened..."

Sydney cuts her off. "Nadia, you told me your were talking to his dead mother. When everyone at APO hears that, they'll think we're crazy!" Nadia shakes her head quickly. "But it's what happened! You have to believe me! How else would I have known to give him a blood transfusion?"

Sydney looks at the floor and shakes her head. "I want to believe you, but this just seems..." Nadia grabs her shoulder and cuts her off. "Sydney, a lot of things about Rambaldi don't seem to make any sense, or don't seem possible...but they are. I believe anything is possible now."

Sydney then asks "But what's Rambaldi endgame with Tom? I know we're 'supposed' to fight, but what is his role in all of this?" Nadia looks down and shakes her head. "I don't know, Sydney. I wish I did. But, there has to be a reason that Rambaldi gave me the ability to save him...and to love him so much."

As she says that, she spots Jack and Sloane walking into the room. She locks eyes with Sloane and gets a look of fury in her face. Jack asks her "Is Tom still ok?"

Nadia, suddenly consumed by anger, ignores his question and grabs Sloane and drives him back first into the wall. She screams "HOW COULD YOU?"

Jack and Sydney run over to break them up. Sydney holds a furious Nadia back while Jack stands by a completely confused and astonished Sloane.

Sydney, still holding a furious Nadia back in her arms, asks "Nadia, what is going on?" An astonished Sloane adjusts his glasses and asks "I'd like to know the same thing."

Nadia calms down a bit and Sydney lets go. Nadia looks at Sloane and, with a very serious and angry tone, says "The whole 'meeting' was just a giant trap for Hans Janssen to capture me and inject me with something that would make me want to kill my sister. When Tom asked him who he was working for, Hans said YOU sent him."

Sloane starts shaking his head, perplexed. "Nadia, I have no prior dealings with this man. That's preposterous." Nadia yells back "Then why did he say he saw you this morning? Why did he seem so sure it was you?"

Before Sloane can answer, Jack turns to him and asks "Where WERE you this morning? You weren't in the office until after Tom and Nadia left." Sloane looks at Jack incredulously. "Jack...you knew I had APO business to attend to. Besides..." Sloane looks back over at Nadia. "...what motive would I have to hurt my own daughter? Or Tom, for that matter?"

Before Nadia can answer, Sydney says "Because you're still obsessed with Rambaldi and because you still hate Tom." Sloane shakes his head. "You're way off base on both counts. I've made my choice in life when it comes to Rambaldi, and I chose my daughter instead. As for Tom, yes, we had our disagreements in the past, but if I hated him so much, why would I push for his promotion after we learned of his Project Alloy surgery? Plus, why would I want to take away the thing that makes Nadia the happiest?"

Nadia hangs her head, digesting what her father just said. Somewhat convinced, she looks back up and asks "So, why would Hans say that he's working for you?" Sloane shakes his head. "I have no idea. But you have to trust me. I had nothing to do with what happened to you or Tom."

Now, it's Sydney's turn to shake her head. "So that's it. We're just supposed to believe you because you say we should." Sloane shakes his head again. "Sydney, you can believe what you want. But I assure you, the truth will come out in the end."

After some silence, Jack tells Nadia "We'd like to send you back to the office site with Marshall to walk through what happened. Nadia, you said Hans tried to inject you with something?" Nadia quickly replies "Yeah, he tried to inject me with tap water. There was a Rambaldi sphere on the table next to me..."

Sloane looks down, looking in deep thought. "How big was the sphere?" Nadia replies "Small, maybe the size of a softball." Still looking down, Sloane shakes his head and mumbles "Amateurs..."

Jack, Nadia, and Sydney give him curious looks. Sydney asks "You want to unpack that a little for us?" Sloane looks up at Nadia. "Nadia, nothing would have happened had he actually injected you. In order for the tap water to have had the effect he desired, the sphere would have had to have been the size of this hospital."

Jack asks "How do you know all of this?" Sloane looks at Jack. "You seem to forget that I was obsessed with all things Rambaldi. I just know that Hans' mission would have failed. It would have been nice if Tom left Hans alive, to see what his plans really were..."

Nadia quickly responds "Tom shot him trying to protect me...and in the process, Hans shot him. Tom had no choice." Sloane cracks a smirk as he looks back at Nadia. "I realize that. I'm happy you both are going to be ok from this. Now, I have to ask...what did you do to save Tom's life?"

Nadia and Sydney exchange glances. Nadia then looks at Jack, unsure if she wants to say how he saved his life to Sloane. Jack picks up on that and says "Tell him." Nadia then blurts out "But, it's Rambaldi..." Sloane now looks intrigued. "What about him?"

Nadia hangs her head. "Me and Tom have two Rambaldi devices floating in our bloodstreams." Jack quickly asks "Two? I only knew of the one..." Sloane looks at Jack surprised. "You knew they were injected with a Rambaldi device and you didn't tell me?" Jack looks down at him and blankly says "You know why the three of us kept this a secret from you."

As Sloane glares at Jack, Nadia continues. "You're right, we only knew of 'The Connection' up until this morning." Sloane quickly perks up and asks "I was under the impression that was something that connected two artifacts..." Nadia quickly cuts him off. "No. At some point in our lives, we were injected with it by Elena Derevko. It interacts with our pheromones and literally 'connects' us."

Jack, a little impatiently, says "But the other anomaly in your bodies is still unknown..." Nadia shakes her head slowly. "Not anymore. It's called 'The Lifeforce.' That's what enabled me to save Tom's life."

Sloane shakes his head. "Nadia, I knew about 'The Connection' decades ago. But, there is no such thing as 'The Lifeforce'." Nadia gives Sloane a rather self-assured look. "Tom's bleeding carotid artery, bullet hole, AND his Project Alloy scars were healed in the matter of seconds of my blood after it entered his body. You can go see him for yourself. Sydney was there, she saw it all. The Lifeforce is real."

Sloane looks at Sydney, who nods her head. "I helped plug Tom's bullet hole while Nadia was filling up a blood bag. A few seconds after Nadia's blood started getting transferred into Tom's body, his bullet hole closed up in seconds, and his scars started fading away before vanishing completely. It happened as Nadia described." Sloane looks down at the ground and shakes his head. "Rambaldi never said anything of a third player in his prophecy, or 'The Lifeforce'. This is so strange, even for me."

As Sloane continues to look perplexed, Jack asks Nadia "How did you know to give Tom a blood transfusion?" Nadia looks at Sydney worried. Sydney takes a deep breath and says "Because...she..."

Nadia cuts her off. "Because I talked to Tom's mother before he returned to life." Sydney looks at Nadia surprised. Jack and Sloane give her similar shocked looks.

Sloane says "His mother died decades ago. You couldn't have possibly..." A determined Nadia cuts him off. "I did talk to her! She told me what to do to save Tom! Why doesn't anyone believe me?" Sydney says "Because it's just not possible..."

Nadia looks at Sydney with an irritated look. But, before she can say anything, Sydney hears a voice in her head. "_Sydney, I'm Tom's mother. Nadia talked to me. I walked her through everything."_

Sydney suddenly looks spooked and staggers back suddenly. This alarms Jack and Sloane, who aren't hearing the voice. Nadia quickly realizes what she's hearing and smiles. Sydney then starts shaking her head and mutters "This is not happening..."

The voice of Mary Falk quickly replies _"Tom and Nadia had similar reactions when they heard me the first time. It's ok, Sydney, this is real. In addition to Tom, I can also talk to you and Nadia as well as your mother."_ Sydney suddenly replies "My mom's...dead." Mary says _"If she was dead, I would feel her presence in the afterlife."_

While Sydney gets a stunned look at that last bit of information, Jack walks up to Sydney and, now concerned, asks "Sydney, what is it?" Nadia, still smiling, says. "Mary Falk is talking to her." As Jack flashes her a surprised look, Nadia looks down at the ground. "Mary, how do you know about our mother?"

Mary answers_"Because I can communicate with her as well. I've never had a reason to, and I wouldn't know where to look for her on earth if I wanted to. But, I was told she's still alive. Anyway, I have to go. I can't abuse my privileges. Keep looking out for my son, ladies..."_

Nadia and Sydney then just look at each other. Sydney then gives Nadia an understanding nod. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Nadia." Nadia smiles and says "It's ok, I understand. I didn't believe Tom at first when he said she talked to him a few days ago."

Sloane blankly says "Well, I think today's events have confirmed that Tom is involved in the Rambaldi prophecy. The question is...what's his purpose? In the meantime, Nadia, I'll go with you, Jack and Marshall and try to find anything on Hans that might give us a link into his syndicate. We need to find out why he's going around telling people he works for me. In the meantime, have doctors said when Tom's going to be awake?"

Nadia smirks. "Tom's mother told me that he'd be awake in a few days. And she hasn't been wrong so far." Sloane nods. "I see. Anyway, I'd really like to hear how things went from Tom's perspective. But, I think we have all we need to get us started for now."

Nadia says "I'll keep an eye on Tom and let you know when he re-awakens." Sloane smirks. "I assumed you'd want that task. After all, your connection with Tom is...unbreakable, right?"

Nadia smirks back, knowing he's referring to a conflict they had in the conference room before the Minsk mission a while ago. Jack then says "Come on, Nadia, let's go." Nadia walks away with Jack and Sloane to go to the office building where Hans was shot. Sydney just hangs back and sits down, still a bit rattled at the day's events.

* * *

><p><em>Chapter note: Nadia walks Jack, Sloane, and Marshall through the office. They find the four dead men Tom killed in the other side of the building, but don't find anything of consequence on them. Then, they go to the room where Nadia was being held and find Hans lying on the floor, dead. A search of his body reveals a cell phone. They find a few phone numbers as well as some vague emails and text messages, but nothing materializes of note. They also found out that the syringe and original vial of tap water that Hans tried to inject Nadia with had both shattered, presumably in Hans' fall, so they can't find out anything about it's contents. In the meantime, three days pass and Vaughn returns from his hunt for his father, revealing to APO that 'Sloane' was behind his wild goose chase for the truth about his father. Also, Dixon is shot during Vaughn's shenanigans and Nadia talks to Katya Derevko about her mother, much to the chagrin of Sydney. The timeline of this chapter now resumes between Episodes 15 and 16 in Season 4.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's hospital room- 3 days later<strong>_

Nadia sits next to Tom's unconscious body, with her head resting on Tom's lap. She had fallen asleep a few hours ago in her long sleeve blue shirt and jeans. It's 6:34 in the morning. The sun starts to crack outside, signaling the start of the new day. The hospital room is dark, as it has been all night. There is a small, white fluorescent light over Tom's bed that is still on, providing some light.

She didn't have to be there. Unlike when she was hospitalized after Anna shot her, there was little-to-no chance of another attempt on Tom's life. But, between Tom getting shot and her dealings with Katya Derevko the other day, Nadia has had a trying few days and felt better being by Tom's side...even if he wasn't conscious. Plus, Sloane gave her a few days off after she requested it so she could be by his side and take care of him when he regains consciousness.

The hospital room is still. The only sound comes from Tom's heart monitor, which now is displaying a very normal heart rhythm. His blood pressure and pulse are also at normal levels.

The stillness is suddenly broken by Tom's right arm twitching. Nadia remains asleep, despite holding Tom's right hand with her left hand.

As we look at his face, we see Tom's eyes slowly open up. He squints a bit, then blinks his eyes repeatedly, trying to get his bearings. He then lifts up his head a bit and sees Nadia resting on him.

He quickly realizes where he is. He's in the hospital room, and the woman that saved his life for the second time in his life is resting on his lap, with her face facing towards him. Tom looks to the right and sees a clock near the sink. He sees it's 6:35 now. Tom looks out the window to his left and sees the sun starting to rise. He realizes it's morning, and this would be about the time they would be getting ready for work.

Tom looks back down at Nadia and reaches over and gently brushes away some of her hair that had fallen over her face with his left hand. Nadia twitches a bit after feeling Tom's hand on her face, and then opens her eyes when the feeling continues.

She immediately sees that Tom was awakened and sits straight up, a little surprised to see him awake. Tom takes off his oxygen mask and, with a warm smile on his face, says "Good morning, beautiful."

Nadia, now beaming from the excitement of seeing Tom alive again, springs up and gives him a hug. She turns her head and tells Tom through his ear "Good morning, handsome. Welcome back!" She then gives Tom a kiss below his ear on his neck. Then, she pulls away and gives Tom a kiss on the lips.

When Nadia pulls back after the quick kiss, Tom again brushes some of Nadia's hair back. He then lets out a little laugh and, still a little groggy, says "You don't know how happy I am...to be able to keep on loving you." Nadia smiles wide. "Me too. I was so afraid of living without you. You're more than my boyfriend...you're my best friend."

Tom chuckles a bit, then says in a serious tone "I appreciate you saying that. You know, I've never been afraid to die. I know it's a part of life. But, in that van, as I was fighting to live, I realized that I was about to lose you ...and I never became so afraid of anything in my life." Nadia grabs Tom's right hand and rubs it gently. "I could tell. But thankfully...things turned out ok."

Tom looks up at the ceiling. "Thanks to my mother!" Nadia smiles wide again. "Not only did your mom help save your life...she also helped me do something else! Look at your right arm."

Tom looks at her a bit confused, then holds up his right arm. And then...if his jaw could hit the floor, it would have. His eyes almost pop out of his head from shock as he realizes that his Project Alloy scar is gone.

Tom then pulls up his shirt and looks at his stomach and chest and sees those scars are gone too. He looks back up at Nadia astonished. With all signs of grogginess now out the window, Tom exclaims "Nadia...I don't freaking believe this!" Nadia giggles out of joy. "Well, believe it! The healing agents in my body healed your scars in addition to your neck! I knew you'd be happy..."

Tom starts laughing and cuts her off. "Happy? I'm ecstatic! Nadia, you don't understand...I wore those scars were like a scarlet letter...a constant reminder of what happened in 2003, and what I still live with inside. And now...now, I don't have to hide my scars to anyone, I don't have to explain them to anyone, and I can just go about life normally! I can wear short sleeves in public again! Project Alloy can no longer define who I am to people!" Tom then grabs his heart suddenly. "Whew! Calm down, Tom!" Nadia laughs at Tom's burst of energy. "Yeah, calm down! Doctors say your heart is still getting back it's strength after all that blood loss."

Tom then asks "How long have I been out?" Nadia says "Three days." Tom then looks away and smiles. "Seems like just a few minutes ago, I was standing next to my mom when she was telling you how to save me."

Nadia looks a little surprised. "You were there? Why didn't you say anything?" Tom quickly replies "Apparently, talking to the living from the afterlife is a difficult process. My mom had recently just learned to talk to me."

Nadia nods, then starts walking to the end of Tom's bed with a mischievous look on her face. Tom picks up on that. "What are you doing?" Nadia pulls up Tom's covers at his feet, then looks back at Tom with that mischievous look. "I just wanted to see if what your mom said about your ticklish feet was true!"

Tom's eyes bug out and he says "NO! NO! DON'T!" Nadia ignores his pleas and starts tickling his feet lightly and Tom squirms in joyful agony. After a few seconds, he's finally able to yell "STOP!" Nadia, laughing hard at seeing the effect of Tom's new-found weakness on him, eventually stops the tickling torture and puts the covers back over his feet. After she stops laughing, she tells Tom "Now, whenever you want to watch hockey or listen to hard rock, I know how to stop you!"

Tom shakes his head and looks to the sky. "Mom, you freaking traitor!" Tom then looks back down and laughs with Nadia.

As they do, the female doctor that helped Tom a few days earlier walks into the room and turns on the light. As she walks up to him, she smiles and says "Good morning!" Tom smiles and says "Good morning to you! Good morning to anything!"

The doctor walks up to the side of Tom's bed and asks "Sounds like you're feeling good." Tom nods his head affirmatively. "VERY good, actually. Although my girlfriend here decided to torture me just now by trying to tickle me to death and I now, my body feels like it just ran a marathon, but otherwise, I'm just happy to be alive!"

Nadia giggles a bit. The doctor looks at her for a second, then back at Tom. "Well, Nadia saved your life a few days ago. Sydney helped too, but it was Nadia's blood that healed you." Tom looks at Nadia and smiles. "I know. She's amazing, isn't she?"

As Nadia lets out a touched smile at that comment, the doctor looks over at Tom's vitals and says "Your vitals look really good. While you were out, the CIA ordered a few tests to analyze your reaction to Nadia's blood. I couldn't believe what happened, and I don't think I'd be able to explain it to anyone. Thankfully, the CIA has ordered me to stay silent on the subject, so that makes my life a little easier." Tom chuckles a bit at that, then says "Thanks for your help...and thanks for buying Nadia's story on me needing a transfusion. Anyway, how long am I going to be here?"

The doctor says "We want to keep you for another 24 hours for observation, and then we'll release you, but you'll need to stay off your feet for a couple weeks. Your heart went through some major trauma because of the blood loss. It still needs time to recover. We'll need to release you to someone's care." Nadia smiles and says "I'll take care of him." The doctor turns to her and smiles back. "I figured you would."

Tom then feels his stomach growl, breaking up the happy moment. He asks "When's breakfast?" Before the doctor can answer, Nadia asks "Can I bring him breakfast? There's a diner we both like to eat at that has carryout." The doctor nods. "Sure, he can eat whatever he wants. I'm not going to restrict his diet." The doctor turns back to Tom with a smile. "Anyway, just keep resting...and try to not let your girlfriend tickle you. Your heart would appreciate that."

Tom and Nadia both share a laugh as the doctor leaves the room.

Tom then asks "You need to go into work?" Nadia smiles and shakes her head. "No. My father gave me a few days off. He thought I could use a break...it's been a wild few days. Anyway, I'm going to get your breakfast, and while I'm out, I'll let APO know you're awake. My father wanted to talk to you about what happened a few days ago."

Tom sits up quickly and his smile quickly evaporates. "You're going to let that son of a bitch come to this hospital after what he did to us?" Nadia looks down and shakes her head. "I'm not sure Hans was telling the whole truth."

Tom shakes his head. "Nadia, I can spot a liar a million miles away, and Hans wasn't lying. He talked to Sloane...Sloane's actions put me in the hospital and nearly got you turned into a Rambaldi guinea pig!" Nadia looks back up. "We're looking into Hans' allegations...but Tom, my father has no motive to do anything to us!"

Tom rolls his eyes. "Are you kidding me? You're talking about a man that nearly turned you into a vegetable in Japan after all of those Rambaldi fluid injections! Sloane's not your average, everyday criminal, Nadia! Who knows what his motives are!" Nadia sighs and says "So, you're back to where you started with my father."

Tom throws his arms up in frustration. "Nadia, I've never lost sight of the fact that your father still has a black heart. Now, that heart might be starting to lighten up a bit, now that you're in his life, but let's not forget that he's historically been more than happy to manipulate the people closest to him. His twisted sense of reality got his wife killed, got Sydney's fiancee killed...do I really have to go on?"

Nadia goes to say something, but an intent Tom cuts her off. "Nadia, you tell Jack that I will not allow Sloane into my hospital room. If Jack wants to debrief me and report to Sloane on it later, then that would be fine. But I will not talk to your father while I'm lying prone and weakened in a hospital. There's no way in hell I'll allow that!" Nadia then folds her arms. "Don't you believe in innocent until proven guilty?"

Tom then sits back in his hospital bed and sighs. "Look, if Janssen's claims turn out to be false, then I'll happily eat my crow, but as long as I live, I'll always take what your father says and does with a grain of salt. Now, that doesn't mean that I'll try to at least have a working relationship with the man if he's being straight with us, but I still don't trust him and I don't think I ever will."

Tom then quickly puts his hand to his forehead and shakes his head. "Ah, here we go again...your father getting in the way of our relationship...I'm sorry..." Nadia looks down but doesn't say anything.

After a few seconds, she looks up a little sheepishly and says "I'll go get our breakfast. I love you." Tom drops his hand from his forehead and smiles at her. "I love you, too. And as long as a heart beats in my chest, I always will love you...no matter what gets in our way."

Those words appear to give Nadia some comfort as she smiles while she walks away.

* * *

><p>About an hour or so later, Nadia returns to Tom's hospital room holding a bag of to-go boxes as well as a quart of milk. She immediately spots Tom standing on his feet, looking at a mirror shirtless. She looks surprised to see he's not in bed. "Tom, what are you doing? You should be resting!" Tom looks back at her with a wide smile. "I know, but I just had to see what you did to my scars! I still can't believe they're gone!"<p>

Nadia smiles as she sets Tom's food on a large round table near the window. Tom puts his shirt back on and starts walking over to the table, toting his IV bag stand with him. When he gets to the table, he opens his box and grins wide when he sees pancakes and sausage. "Oh, thank you so much! This looks great!"

Nadia smiles back as she sets a fork next to Tom. "No problem! I'm just glad you're alive so I still even buy you breakfast!" Nadia then starts opening her to-go box and sits down. Tom takes his seat next to her.

Tom takes a bite of a sausage patty while Nadia takes a bite of her omelet and looks back at Tom. "You know, your mom seems so nice." Tom nods his head. "Everyone I knew in Bunker said she was one of the nicest people you'll ever find, and I'm glad got to know that for myself while I was dead. Me and Mom had a nice talk."

Nadia raises her eyebrows at that. "Really? You were with her before you two were in the hospital room?" Tom smiles as he finishes his bite of pancakes. "Yeah. I went to this...this blue replica of earth. I was home, in good ol' Bunker, Missouri. My mom was there, the swing-set I spent countless hours on was there...even the picnic table I helped build was there. It all seemed so real!"

Nadia looks really interested now. "So, was this heaven?" Tom laughs a bit. "That's one of the first things I asked! She said no, and that they don't have a name for the place, but now...I can take some pleasure in knowing what's on the other side. Nadia, after we die, we can be whatever we want, look however we want, and live wherever we want. It's beautiful."

Nadia smiles at the prospect of that, then asks "How did your mom look?" Tom nods. "Great! Very close to how she looked in that picture of her you saw the other day. She says her appearance in the afterlife was just as it was when she died. Oh, and she also had a lot of things to say about you."

Nadia stops eating and drops her fork in surprise. "Really? What did she say?" Tom smiles. "My mom loves you. In fact, she thinks that we should have hooked up after the Conquistadores mission because, according to her, my wife was cheating on me before then."

Nadia now looks upset. "Ugh! The nerve of that woman...you were so loyal to her and she just ripped your heart out." Tom then remembers something. "Wait...wait a sec! I couldn't have asked you out after the mission! You told me you had a boyfriend!"

Nadia sighs a bit. "Tom, I lied." Tom now drops his fork in surprise. "What?" Nadia looks at Tom with a serious look. "Well, by the time we met, I was breaking things off this guy I was seeing. He still tried coming around, but I was done with him by the time me and you met. If you had asked me out, I would have said yes."

Tom hangs his head in shame. "Unbelievable...I suffered for nothing all those years with Kate. My mom didn't want to tell me what all she did behind my back because she knew I'd feel like this." Nadia then rubs Tom's shoulder a bit. "Tom, the past doesn't matter. We have each other now. Plus, it would have been difficult for the both of us to maintain such a long distance relationship."

Tom then says "I could have recruited you into Storm Crew...wait...oh crap..." Tom realizes what that might have meant. "And you could have died in Torino...oh my goodness..." Tom then sits back troubled. Nadia stands up and gives Tom a hug to try to calm him down. "Tom, don't beat yourself up over what could have been. It's not worth it. What matters is right now. And right now, I get to spend more time with the man I love...and do this..."

Nadia then releases the hug, sits on Tom's lap and gives him a fairly long kiss.

However, the kiss is interrupted by Jack's voice behind them. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

Nadia jumps off of Tom and looks away, wiping off her face. Tom also looks surprised. "Jack, I could say you were interrupting, but you already knew that!"

Jack cracks a tiny smile. "Good to see you're doing well." Tom smiles wide. "It's good to be well, Jack."

Nadia picks up her omelet. "You two need to talk? I can leave." Jack holds up his hand. "No, you can stay. You were a part of the mission, too."

Nadia nods as she sets her omelet back down. Tom leans forward. "I hope you don't mind us eating while we debrief. I fell like I haven't ate in three days...oh wait, that's because I haven't."

Jack shrugs as he pulls up a chair next to Nadia. "That's fine, I understand. Anyway, I want to first address Arvin Sloane." Tom shakes his head. "Nadia tells me that there is a belief that Hans might have been full of crap. I don't believe it. Hans wasn't lying to me."

Jack says "Marshall recorded your encounter with Hans through the transmitter he provided you. From what I could tell, it would appear that Hans was telling the truth, but Sloane did have a solid alibi. Traffic cameras and bank cameras confirmed his whereabouts that morning, and at no point did he appear to make contact with Hans Janssen." Tom shakes his head and doesn't look sold. "Appearances can be deceiving, Jack."

Jack nods. "Don't misunderstand me, Tom. There is a big suspicion surrounding Sloane here. However, we need to know more before we can act. Doing anything now would be extremely naïve." Tom lets out an understanding nod as he chews on a piece of pancake. "I understand."

Jack continues. "Nadia walked us through the office building, and we spotted the four dead men in the other side of the building. I assume you killed them, correct?" Tom nods. "Correct, Jack. I had to get myself out of a bit of a pickle there. They were on me like paper on glue."

Jack then asks "As for the encounter with Hans...what made you tape a gun behind your back?" Tom looks over at Nadia and smiles. "Have you ever seen the movie Die Hard?" Nadia then smiles, now putting the pieces together. They had just seen the movie not even a day before the mission.

Jack replies "I'm not much into movies, Tom." Tom looks back over at Jack. "Anyway, long story short, I ran out of bullets in my gun. So, I pulled a page out of the main character's playbook: I took a handgun from one of the guys I killed and taped it to the back of my neck and went in to the room with my empty gun drawn. I knew this would allow me to buy myself some leverage. When I dropped my gun, he was able to tell me about Sloane. However, as you heard, it was becoming more and more apparent that he was hell-bent on doing whatever he wanted to do to Nadia, and I knew that I'd have to act quick. So, when it came to draw, I kicked my empty gun towards him and ripped off the loaded gun on the back of my neck and fired. I thought kicking the gun his way would buy me that extra split second to get the job done...unfortunately, he wasn't distracted long and got a shot off before my bullet hit him. When I was down on the ground, I crawled over and cut Nadia's bonds free. Nadia and Marshall took it from there."

Jack nods his head. "Right, Nadia filled me in. Anyway, I want to move on to something else. Apparently, you, Nadia, and Sydney share the ability to communicate with your deceased mother." Tom nods his head again. "Yeah. You probably think we're crazy..."

Jack cuts him off. "Based on what I heard and saw after you returned to life, I'm inclined to believe that communication with your mother is possible. While we were discussing what happened after you were revived, your mother talked to Sydney and convinced her that she had indeed talked to Nadia and yourself." Tom smiles, then says "There's more to that. After I died, I got to talk face to face with my mother. I saw the afterlife, Jack. You won't believe what's on the other side..."

Jack shakes his head. "I'd rather not know. But, I would like to know what you two talked about." Tom thinks for a bit, then says "Mostly about things that happened earlier in my personal life. However, I did I learn when I was injected with 'The Connection.'"

Nadia quickly asks "Did she know when I was injected?" Tom shakes his head. "No. Despite our link, my mom seemed to not have any prior knowledge of you before our encounter in 2001. Then again, she did seem oddly secretive at times..."

Jack, more interested in the original topic, says "When were you injected?" Tom quickly turns to Jack and replies "It happened right before I joined the CIA, when I was still a local police officer. I was dragged out to the woods by my friends while I was sleeping on the couch as a prank. Elena snuck up and injected me while I was asleep. Apparently, she spotted my picture after a meth bust of mine made national headlines and made some sort of connection. I'm guessing she must know about my role in Rambaldi's prophecy, wherever she is."

Jack leans forward. "Did your mother mention anything about your role in the prophecy?" Tom shakes his head. "No. But, she knew about the anomalies in our blood, including 'The Lifeforce'."

Jack quickly asks "How did she know about 'The Lifeforce'?" Tom answers "A robed man on a horse told her before I arrived. She wouldn't identify the man by name because she was told not to. The man also told my mother how I would come back to life."

Jack raises his eyebrows a bit. "What color was this man's robe?" Tom thinks for a bit. "He was far away...it looked off-white, with some writing or markings in black on the back of his robe. He rode a white horse. To be honest, I didn't pay him too much attention. I was more in shock of seeing my mom."

Jack sits back and looks to be in deep thought. Tom notices. "Do you know who he was?" Jack looks back at Tom. "If that's all you saw, then I can't draw any conclusions."

Tom nods his head, but just goes back to his food. Jack says "We knew about 'The Connection', but 'The Lifeforce' is something that Rambaldi apparently did not write about. We also have no idea about what your role in Rambaldi's prophecy is." Tom dismissively says "If I even have a role."

Jack says "You have a role. Rambaldi wouldn't have gone through all of this with you two if there wasn't a reason for it." Tom stops eating for a bit and thinks for a bit, then sighs. "Well, I'm afraid I have nothing else to say about Monday's mission. Seems like you have everything else you need from Nadia and Marshall. I wish I had more answers...but it seems like everything that happened only served to raise more questions."

Jack nods. "Well, we'll get to the bottom of everything. In the meantime, your doctor has ordered you to strongly limit your physical activity. Therefore, you won't be in the field again for a couple of weeks. In fact, Sloane has ordered that you stay home for the rest of this week. He says you can take next week off if you want..." Tom shakes his head. "No, I can still be of use at work, even if I'm chained to a desk for a while. I'll be fine. In the meantime, the doctor told me you're running some tests on my blood. Any news from that?"

Jack quickly replies "Early indications say that 'The Lifeforce' in Nadia's body somehow 'communicated' with yours when it entered your body. The samples we ran from both of your blood samples saw the two agents interacting with each other somehow. We also know from a blood sample we took from you yesterday that 'The Lifeforce' can regenerate 'The Connection' that you lost when you bled out. We're still running more tests, though. We're not exactly sure how the agents were able to heal your wounds and scars that quickly." Tom nods his head. "I understand. Anyway, thanks for checking in."

Jack then stands up. "Thanks for your help. I'll see you again in a few days." Tom reaches over to shake Jack's hand. "Thanks Jack. Oh, and tell Marshall thanks as well."

Jack shakes his hand, then asks "Why do you need me to say that to Marshall?" Tom says "Because without his help, I might not have had a chance to come back to life. He busted his ass to help get me to the hospital. He deserves my gratitude."

Jack nods. "I'll pass the word. Take care." Tom nods his head back. "You too, Jack."

Jack then walks out as Tom finishes his last bite of food. Tom then looks over at Nadia and smiles. "This really hit the spot. Thanks, babe."

Nadia smiles back sarcastically. "You're welcome...babe!" Tom then slides away his box and leans towards Nadia. "So, I take it that you're going to make good on your promise to stay at my apartment for a while?"

Nadia cracks a wide smile. "Yeah. In fact...I'm ready to move in with you on a permanent basis...if you'll have me!" Tom tilts his head a bit and has a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "Yeah? I thought you liked Sydney's."

Nadia leans forward. "I do. But, after the weekend we had, it felt so good waking up next to you. You said in bed that you want to be with me more...well then let's be together more. After nearly losing you, I want to savor the days we have to spend with each other now. And if I want to stay at Sydney's...I'd like you to stay with me when you can." Tom smiles. "Yeah, I'd like that. I like Sydney's coffee. In fact, you may not think much of it, but I enjoy the mornings we all share at the breakfast bar. All the times I sat there drinking coffee with you guys in the early going of my APO run really started the healing process with everything I went through. It felt good to be a part of something again, even if it was just a bunch of us drinking coffee."

Tom then looks down at his scar-less right arm. "And speaking of what I went through, I don't know how I'm going to repay you not only healing my gunshot wound, but also my Project Alloy scars. I'm back to being normal again!" Nadia laughs a bit, which causes Tom to look at her funny. "What's so funny?" Nadia stops laughing and says "Normal? You're still crazy!"

Tom laughs at that, then gets up and hops back into his hospital bed. Much to his surprise, Nadia stands up and then climbs up on top of Tom in the bed. Tom looks at her a bit surprised as she lies down on top of him. Tom says "Well, speaking of crazy...I hope you're comfortable!" Nadia smiles as she leans her head on her left arm, which is resting on the bed. She gazes deeply into Tom's eyes and says "With you, I'm always comfortable."

Tom then lightly touches Nadia's face. "I like the view of you from here. Something about this angle makes you look so beautiful." Nadia then starts lightly touching Tom's face herself. "I like this view, too. And I'm so happy I still get to see you from any angle..."

Nadia's voice started to crack towards the end of the sentence. She now looks like she's about to cry. Tom looks concerned now and starts rubbing her back a bit to try to comfort her. "Hey, what is it?" Nadia, fighting back the tears, says "Promise me you won't leave me again! Promise me that you'll continue to be there by my side, as you always have! I love you so much...and I don't ever want to lose you again. You've been so good to me..." Nadia then starts openly weeping.

Tom starts tearing up himself, hurt that Nadia is crying. "Hey...I swear...as long as our hearts keep beating in our chests...I will never abandon you. Like you said Friday night...I couldn't get rid of you if I tried!" Nadia laughs a bit at that, remembering that comment very well.

Together, they each wipe off each other's tears. Tom, very sincerely, says "I love you...I love you more than you'll ever know. You're not just a part of my life. You ARE my life. And you're more than a girlfriend to me. You're my best friend, too." Nadia, her voice still somewhat shaking from her crying, says "I love you, and I'll never stop loving you! No matter what..." Then, after looking at each other longingly, they share a very passionate kiss.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	17. Ch 16: Family Matters

**FAMILY MATTERS**

_Timeline of chapter: During Season 4, Episodes 16_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment<strong>_

In his bedroom, we see Tom hanging some of Nadia's clothes in his closet. Meanwhile, Nadia is folding some of her clothes and putting them into Tom's dresser.

In light of her deciding to stay at Tom's most of the time now, Nadia felt it would be best to keep the majority of her clothes at Tom's. Despite her objections, Tom helped carry a lot of her belongings from Sydney's apartment and up the stairs to his apartment.

Nadia looks over at Tom, who is pulling some of his clothes and tossing them on a pile in an attempt to clear space for Nadia's stuff. She asks "How are you holding up?" Tom looks over at her and shrugs, hiding his fatigue. "Fine, why?"

Nadia quickly replies "I'm just concerned about you doing physical activity..." Tom cuts her off with a smile. "Nadia, this is nothing! Did you really expect me to just sit on my ass and watch you and Sydney carry your stuff in and out? Come on, what kind of guy do you think I am?"

Nadia gives Tom a glowing smile. "A sweet one!" Tom gives a flattered chuckle. "I've been called a lot of things in my life, but sweet's a new one. I guess you get called things like that when you're addicted to love."

Nadia keeps her smile as she closes her drawer and starts walking over to help Tom clear space in the closet. Tom starts pushing her away, saying "No, I got this, take a break." Nadia gives him a playful shove back. "Hey now! This is my stuff you're messing with!"

Tom stops what he's doing, then turns around suddenly and walks away. In a sarcastic tone, he says "You're right, it's all yours." Nadia just smirks and shakes her head at Tom's antics. Tom then starts stuffing some of the clothes he tossed into garbage bags.

When Nadia finishes arranging things to her liking, she walks over and helps Tom with his clothes. As she's putting clothes into garbage bags, she tells Tom "I'll go take these clothes to the Salvation Army, then I'll get us dinner..."

Tom stops what he's doing and looks at her with a dismayed look. "No, no, no. I'll make the trip. You've done enough for me lately..." Now Nadia stops what she's doing and looks at Tom with a somewhat irritated look. "Tom, we're in this together. I like doing nice things for you, just like how you like doing nice things for me. Besides, I don't want you doing too much, not with your heart still weak."

Tom cracks a small smile. "Now that we're going to be living together, my heart has never felt better, actually. I'm really happy that you've chosen to stay with me." Nadia rubs Tom's arm a bit. "I'm happy that you've allowed me to share your home!"

Tom hangs his head a bit. "I know this place isn't nearly as nice as Sydney's..." Nadia puts her hand over Tom's mouth. "Stop. I don't care about that. I just want you, and I don't care where we live. Besides..." Nadia then smirks and says "...all this place needs is a little time, love, care...and a woman's touch. Maybe while I'm here, I can spice this place up a bit."

Fear is now etched on Tom's face as she says that. "Uh, what did you have in mind?" Nadia starts looking around the bedroom. "Well, for one, this bedroom has no personality! If we painted it, it'd really make a difference!"

Tom then starts thinking for a bit, then nods. "Ok. If you want to, get some color samples while you're out and we'll go over them together. Just don't pick anything goofy!" Nadia giggles a bit. "I promise!"

Nadia and Tom then stuff the last pieces of Tom's old clothes into a bag. Nadia grabs the two garbage bags of clothes. "Ok, I'll be back in a little while. I love you!" Tom leans over and gives her a kiss and says "I love you too, babe. I'm glad you're here."

Tom walks out in front of Nadia and holds the front door open for her. Nadia walks out with Tom's old clothes. Tom then closes the door and leans back up against it and smiles wide. To no one in particular, he utters "Man, I'm happy to be alive."

Then, all of the sudden, he frowns. He realizes there's something that he's been meaning to do when he gets a free moment away from Nadia. But, he's afraid to do it.

He spurs himself to walk to the kitchen. He walks up to the refrigerator and grabs a note that was hung up there by a magnet. We see that the note, in Nadia's handwriting, says "Karen – 573-555-9765."

Tom quickly puts the note back on the refrigerator and walks back to his bedroom to do some more re-arranging of clothes.

* * *

><p>About 30 minutes later, Tom is finally satisfied with the arrangement of his and Nadia's clothes and walks back out to the living room.<p>

He looks back at the kitchen and sighs. He knows he has to do this. He promised himself in the hospital that he'd talk to his estranged sister before he went back to work in two days. After all, his mom told him he needed to do this, and he wouldn't want to let her down...even if she is in a different plane of existence.

Tom mumbles "Just like cough medicine...let's get this over with." He then marches into the kitchen, grabs the phone number, grabs a phone, punches in the number, and puts the phone to his ear...all in a fast flurry of just a couple seconds.

On the other line, we see an average woman in her 40's with curly, shoulder length brown hair pick up her phone. "Hello?"

Tom pauses for a second, then closes his eyes and sighs, afraid to say anything. The woman hears the sigh and curiously asks again "Hello? Who is this?"

Finally, Tom breaks his silence. "Karen, it's your brother." Karen's eyebrows raise a bit, then she smiles. "Tom! Hey, how are you?"

Seeing as she's taking a pleasant tone, Tom relaxes a bit. "I'm ok. I just got out of the hospital, and I'm recuperating a bit, but I'm fine." Karen, now a bit concerned, asks "Oh no, I hope it wasn't anything serious..."

Tom smirks. "I took a bullet the other day. They got it out and...I survived." Karen folds her arms and cracks a sarcastic smirk. "Let me guess, you were on an undercover LAPD drug bust, right?"

Tom picks up on her sarcasm. "What else could it be?" Karen laughs loudly. "Oh come on, little brother! I know you're CIA!"

Tom eyes shoot up in surprise. "I'M WHAT?" Karen quickly replies "I got a call from the CIA when they presumed you were dead a couple years ago. You had me listed as your next of kin. And then, you were found alive and they called me again! They made me swear to keep your job quiet, which wasn't a problem since we weren't on speaking terms. Anyway, I told Nadia that and she confirmed that you two work together. It's ok, you're secret's safe out here in the middle of nowhere!"

Tom now looks a little irritated as he walks over to the living room and sits on the couch. "What else did Nadia tell you about me?" Karen giggles and says "That's between us girls! Nothing too bad, though!"

Tom rolls her eyes, but picks up in Karen's tone that Nadia didn't tell her anything serious. After some silence, Karen asks "Did you get the wine I sent?"

Tom nods. "Yeah, it was great. You remembered I like Chardonels." Karen says "Yeah, that was Mom's favorite wine as well. It always amazed me how much you reminded me of her."

Tom sits back a bit and digests that comment. There is no way he can tell Karen that he actually got to meet her mother a few days ago in the afterlife...that might send Karen into hysterics.

Dismissively, Tom just says "That's what I've been told. Anyway, Nadia told me you two had a nice conversation." Karen smiles and says "We did! She seems really nice!"

Tom quickly says with a smile on his face "Karen, she's a one of a kind. I'm crazy about her..." Karen quickly replies "And I could tell she's crazy about you, too. I'm happy she told you I talked to her, even though I was afraid how you'd react."

Tom shrugs. "The wine helped..." Karen laughs. "I thought it would! But, I was afraid to talk to you after the last time we talked...when Dad died."

Tom hangs his head. "I was an asshole on the phone, and you didn't deserve that. It's just...I can't think rationally when it comes to Dad." Karen says "I know, Tom. And I shouldn't have asked you to help with his burial. I never bothered to think of how I'd react if I were in your shoes."

Tom asks "What DID you end up doing with my dad?" Karen pauses for a bit, then says "Turns out he had some life insurance, so it was taken care of. But, it was at his funeral when I realized the polarizing effect he had on people. It was just me, your nephew, and the woman he was seeing before he died...only three people showed up at his funeral. His alcoholism ended up alienating everyone, and I always took too much pity on him to realize the damage he did to you and Eddie."

Tom shakes his head. "Eddie was able to deal with my dad better than I was. I was always the outspoken one, but my brother never let it get to him. Speaking of my brother, I really miss him. There are times where I can use his voice of reason." Karen laughs a bit. "Yeah, if there's one thing you inherited from your dad, it was his temper! Mom was always calm and just took life as it came to her, just like Eddie did. You and your dad would always force the issue."

Tom sighs and says "Anyway, I'm sorry that I jumped you on the phone. That wasn't right of me. You just wanted help from your own flesh and blood, you did nothing wrong." Karen shakes her head. "Tom, there's no need to apologize. I said some nasty things myself, including saying you were pretty much dead to me. Let's just forget all that ever happened, ok?"

Tom smiles and says "You got a deal, big sis. So, how are things in our hometown?" Karen growls bit, then says "Still as boring as ever!"

Tom then asks "Does my cheating bitch of an ex-wife ever show her face in Bunker?" Karen laughs and says "No! And if she did, I'd kick her ass for what she did to you...cheating on you, then telling you you're no good when you were found alive. I called her after Nadia told me what all she did to you and told her to stay the hell out of Bunker...ok, I might have said a little more than that...but you get the idea. As far as I know, she's still in Baltimore with that stock broker guy."

Tom laughs a bit, then asks "Good, she can stay there. Anyway, how's my nephew doing?" Karen says "He's good. He's doing really well in school, but he's definitely got the Falk temper! He's actually sitting in his room grounded because he got suspended from school."

Tom gets a look of shock. "Danny? He was a sweet kid growing up..." Karen giggles a bit. "So were you until you got to his age. Then, you started realizing that you can throw your weight around. The other day, Danny popped this boy in the face because he got called a dumb blonde."

Tom laughs out loud. "Yup, he's one of us! How are YOU doing, by the way?" Karen just shrugs a bit. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm getting by, don't worry about me."

Tom nods, remembering Karen didn't like to talk about herself much. Then he gets a serious look on his face. "Karen, I wanted to talk to you about something else while I had you on the line. Do you still have Mom's engagement ring that Dad gave her?" Karen face freezes all of the sudden. With some trepidation in her voice, she says "Yes...yes, I do."

Tom blankly asks "I was wanting to see if you could mail it to me. I'm thinking about asking Nadia to marry me." Karen, still stammering a bit, says "That's...that's great..."

Tom notices Karen's voice isn't exactly enthused. "Hey, I thought you liked Nadia!" Karen looks down and says "I DO! It's just...I had a dream the other night...I was lying there in bed and all of the sudden, I hear Mom's voice coming out of nowhere...she told me that you'd be calling to ask for her engagement ring, and that I should send it to you...and now here you are, doing just that."

Tom laughs because he realizes that probably really happened: His mom did actually talk to Karen. Instead of the truth, he says "Come on, Karen! You're hearing voices now?" Karen yells back "It was a dream, Tom! At least, I'm pretty sure it was..."

Tom laughs again and says "Well, let's just hope it's all it was, ok? Do you have my address?" Karen says "Yeah, Nadia gave it to me over the phone. I'll mail you the ring tomorrow on one condition: when you two do get married, can I get an invite to the wedding?"

Tom looks astonished that she'd even ask that. "Of course! You're my sister...my sister that apparently doesn't hate me after all these years!" A remorseful Karen says "Tom, I never hated you. I could never hate my family. I'm sorry I gave you that impression." Tom quickly replies "Likewise."

Nadia then walks through the front door with a pizza and says "Hey!" Tom turns and points to the phone. Nadia's smile erases as she says "Oh, sorry!" Karen, on the phone, says "I take it Nadia just walked in?"

Tom turns and says on the phone "Yeah, she had a couple errands to run. She's moving in permanently with me starting today." Karen laughs and says "Oh she is? That's one of the things we talked about last week!"

Tom gives Nadia an incredulous look as she sets the pizza on the kitchen counter. Nadia notices and says "What?" Tom then asks Karen "And what did you tell her when she asked this?" Karen says "I first asked her if she could cook, because we both know you can't cook worth a damn!"

Tom then looks repulsed and yells "Hey! I do ok!" Karen laughs and says "Yeah right! Anyway, I'm just kidding, I didn't really say that. She told me she was thinking about moving in with you and I told her that it would be a good idea. I think asking her to marry you would be a good idea as well."

Tom smiles and says "I appreciate the vote of confidence. Anyway, Nadia has dinner ready. I'll talk to you later, Karen. Good to hear your voice again." Karen says "Same here! Love ya, little brother!" Tom smiles and says "I love you too, big sis."

Tom hangs up the phone and looks at Nadia with a smile. Nadia smiles back. "So, you finally talked to your sister. How did it go?"

Tom gives Nadia an affirmative nod. "Good. Thanks for helping facilitate things. Turns out we both were wrong about each other. In the end, we both were afraid we hated each other when that really wasn't the case." Nadia nods and says "I'm glad I could get you two talking again. Even though I didn't have a family growing up, I've come to realize since coming to APO how important family is."

Tom looks down and nods. "You're absolutely right. Family is very important. By the way, I noticed you came back kind of quick, did you get any color samples?" Nadia shakes her head. "No, we'll do that later. I just want to have a nice, quiet night with the man I love."

Tom stands up and smiles wide. "That sounds like a great idea to me, babe." He then walks over and gives her a kiss on the cheek before grabbing a plate for dinner.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: Tom returns to work Monday, as he promised. His duties are limited to mostly menial, boring desk work. Meanwhile, we learn that Sloane was indeed set up after a chat with Roberts, the man that strung Vaughn along in his search for his father. Sloane's clone abducts a nuclear physicist to help build a giant Rambaldi energy ball and steals the Nightingale transformer coil after killing Roberts for it. During that process, Sydney sees Sloane's clone in a glass elevator, confirming that Sloane indeed has a clone. The real Sloane is exonerated for his role in Vaughn's wild goose chase for the truth about his father as well as the debacle that got Tom shot in the neck. Meanwhile, the real Sloane is allowed to review Rambaldi manuscripts in order to see what his clone's next move is. He tells the team that he's going to Sicily to pose as the clone in a meeting with a man who has a supply of Zanthium 242, a chemical that will make a Rambaldi experiment successful. This troubles Nadia, and we pick up from there.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO office<strong>_

Nadia takes her seat at her desk, which of course is next to Tom's. Tom is working on something, then looks over at Nadia and notices that she looks VERY troubled.

Tom asks "Something wrong?" Nadia looks over at him with that troubled look and says "Follow me."

Tom nods as they both stand up and walk over to a secluded place in APO.

Facing Nadia, Tom folds his arms and asks "Nadia, what is it? Are you ok?" Nadia shakes her head. "I'm losing my father."

Tom looks away and thinks about that comment. "You think he's going to be consumed by Rambaldi again." Nadia, still sounding concerned, says "Yeah. I just talked to him...he begged me to believe that he's changed, but a year ago in Siena...I saw it in his eyes, he was obsessed...and when we talked, I saw a hint of that same obsession. Tom, I don't want to lose him. I know your feelings on him and all..."

Tom holds up his hand and cuts her off. "No, I understand. Look, I didn't want to bring this up during the meeting, but I think that letting him go on this meeting alone is pure insanity." Nadia shakes her head. "He doesn't want backup. Believe me, I tried to convince him to take me."

Tom then says "I wasn't referring to backup. I was referring to having him anonymously tracked and having someone there to record his conversation back to us." Nadia looks down and shakes her head again. "Tom, I just said he didn't want anyone from APO to go with him..."

Tom shakes his head slowly and cuts her off. "I'm not talking about having someone from APO go with him. I had something else in mind." Nadia looks back up. "One of your friends from Storm Crew?"

Tom nods. "Mike is the best tracker I know, and he's very adept at covert operations. If I can convince Jack, I was thinking that Mike could go to Sicily and record him anonymously, under the radar." Nadia looks back down. "We'd be going behind my father's back..."

Tom cuts her off again. "You expressed doubts that you can trust your father. And you know that I wouldn't trust him to even wash my car. We need to this."

Just as he says that, Sydney comes from around the corner. "Hey, I've been looking for you two, what's going on?" Tom and Nadia look at each other. Nadia then hangs her head. Sydney now looks adamant at finding out what's going on. "Guys, what is it?"

Tom says "Me and Nadia share some doubts about the state of Sloane's psyche when it comes to Rambaldi, and now, his head is swimming in Rambaldiworld once again." Sydney nods her head. "Your doubts are shared by me as well. I don't like this, either."

Nadia looks at her quickly. "Sydney, I can't lose my father. I want to believe he loves me and has put Rambaldi behind him..." Tom cuts her off. "But you can't." Nadia looks at Tom and shakes her head. "I don't know what to think..."

Tom looks back over at Sydney. "I suggested to Nadia that I send my friend Mike to covertly record his conversation in Sicily. Sloane would never know he was there, and we'd know for ourselves what he's saying. We both know that he won't give us the full story of his meet, just the parts he thinks is important to us. I want to know everything." Sydney thinks for a bit, then says "Sloane insisted that he not have anyone there with him. I don't even want to think what would happen if he were..."

Tom cuts her off with a serious tone in his voice. "A big reason we're both here, Sydney, is to make sure Sloane doesn't go off the deep end. If we let Sloane go run free in Italy on a Rambaldi-related quest, then we're not doing our jobs, are we?" Sydney looks down and digests that question for a bit. "You're right. We need to run this by my dad."

Tom nods his head. "I agree. The three of us should plead our case to him. Nadia, are you in?" Nadia, still looking down, says "Yeah. Let's do it."

The three start to march towards Jack's office.

Tom, Sydney, and Nadia storm into Jack's office. Before Jack can speak, Tom says "We need to have surveillance on Sloane's meet in Sicily." Jack quickly responds "Out of the question. He was adamant on going alone."

Tom doesn't like what he just heard and shakes his head. "Jack, you've known Sloane longer than any of us. Do you think he's going to divulge everything when he gets back? Really?" Jack leans forward, a little perturbed. "We don't have a choice here."

Sydney then speaks up. "Yes we do. We can send someone anonymously to record the meet, that way we know everything there is to know." Jack leans back in his seat and then shakes his head. "I can't risk any of you getting caught..."

Tom cuts him off. "We'll send Mike Walcott, my friend from Storm Crew. He's an expert on staying covert." Jack blankly tells Tom "So, this was all your idea."

Before Tom can respond, Nadia says "No, it was mine." Tom and Sydney give her curious looks. Nadia, not paying them any attention, continues with Jack. "I begged my dad to take me with him, but he refused. I'm worried that he's going to be obsessed with Rambaldi again...I saw it in his eyes! We need to do something to make sure we not only get the information we need, but to make sure he doesn't go down the wrong path again."

Jack replies "Sloane will be reporting back to us, and we can't let him know that we already know what is going on." Tom says "He won't. Having Mike at the meet will allow us to cross-check whatever he tells us later. He'll never have to know."

Jack then shakes his head. "This is too risky. Sloane..." Sydney insistently cuts him off. "Dad, we need to keep our eye on Sloane! That's why we're here! If we let him go on this meet without any surveillance whatsoever, then what are we doing here?"

Jack thinks about that question for a bit, then looks at Tom and asks "You're confident that Mike can pull this off without getting caught?" Tom nods his head slowly. "Mike can do this in his sleep. He won't get caught, I promise."

Finally, Jack appears to be sold. "Fine. Make contact with Mike and give him the particulars. He'll need to get to Sicily as soon as possible, so make sure he's available. He'll also need to get with Marshall so he knows how to connect back with us."

Tom nods affirmatively. "It'll be done. Thanks, Jack." Jack just goes back to his work without saying anything as Tom, Sydney, and Nadia walk out.

* * *

><p>Just outside of Jack's office, Tom stops Nadia and asks "Why did you say this was your idea? Sending Mike was my..." Nadia cuts Tom off. "Because I'm not sure Jack would have agreed to send him had you admitted that this was your idea. He knows you're biased against my father."<p>

Tom quickly responds "Jack saw the relief on my face when Sloane was deemed innocent for the whole Hans Janssen incident. He knows I'm willing to work for the good of APO, not just me." Nadia sighs and looks down, now a little ashamed for jumping the gun.

Sydney, tells Nadia "We all know that we need to keep an eye on Sloane. This isn't about one agent's grudge." Nadia quickly looks up and says "I know, Sydney. You two may not believe this, but there's no one here at APO that wants to keep my father in check more than me."

Tom and Sydney digest that comment for a bit. Finally, Tom looks at Sydney. "I better call Mike. Time is of the essence here, Sloane will be leaving here any minute."

The three then return to work.

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: Mike records Sloane's meet from under the bleachers at the racetrack they're at. He's not detected. The entire APO team is in the conference room, listening in as Sloane confirms that an 'Arvin Sloane' ordered the Zanthium 242 and gets a location where it's being sent: Santiago, Chile. His contact also asks Sloane sarcastically about what did he put in the food that he sent to impoverished countries while running Omnifam. Sloane deflects the question away. He later calls in and reports on the Zanthium portion of the conversation as well as where the shipment was headed and says nothing about his contact's sarcastic question. We pick back up in the conference room after Sloane has finished his debrief via phone.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Conference room<strong>_

Jack reaches over and hangs up the phone. Tom sits there and audibly chuckles as he's shaking his head. Nadia notices. "Tom, he was honest about his conversation." Tom looks at her incredulously. "He said nothing about this...accusation that his contact made about what he put in the food while at Omnifam."

Jack quickly says "That's irrelevant, we have what we need..." Tom cuts him off angrily. "Irrelevant? If Sloane has poisoned the millions of people he oh-so-generously provided food for, we could have a major problem here!"

Jack replies "We've received no reports of food poisoning from any of the countries he provided food to." Before Tom can respond, Dixon says "Tom's right. We can't just ignore this. We have to find out more. The man's accusation didn't seem baseless."

Nadia says "But why would he want to poison millions of innocent people?" Sydney replies "Why did Sloane do a lot of things in his life? He has his reasons."

Before Nadia can fire back with a fiery defense, Tom realizes something. "Nadia, remember last week, when you were almost injected with tap water?" Nadia looks at him and says "Yeah, what does that have to do with this?"

Tom looks back out at the rest of the table. "Sloane told Jack, Nadia, and Sydney that Hans' attempt at whatever he was doing wouldn't have worked because the sphere he used had to be bigger. That tap water Hans had might have been contaminated by whatever Sloane allegedly put into food and water at Omnifam. And if that crap is in millions of people, just waiting to be triggered by a giant Rambaldi sphere...I don't even want to think what could happen!"

The rest of the table seems to think that makes sense. Nadia just shakes her head, stubbornly refusing to believe these accusations against her father. Jack finally breaks the silence and says "At this point, that's just conjecture. We'll address that at another time. Meanwhile, Sloane appears to be on the same page with us and wants to help end this experiment and this clone. We need to get to Santiago and infiltrate the clone's facility. Sloane will be joining the tactical team. Tom...Dixon...you two are still recuperating from your recent wounds, so you'll be hanging back here."

Dixon says "You're actually letting Sloane join the tactical team?" Jack quickly replies "Considering who we're up against...and considering our need for Rambaldi information..."

Dixon cuts him off incensed. "Considering the man himself...it's one thing to allow Sloane into the Department of Special Research to read the Rambaldi documents, but if his imposter has assembled the Rambaldi device, and Sloane is put in front of it, what assurances do we have..."

Jack cuts him off a little perturbed. "I'm calling the shots here, Marcus." Dixon, more than a little offended, asks "And you have a problem with me questioning Sloane's motives?"

Jack replies "At this point, Sloane's motives are irrelevant. If Sloane can bring the imposter to us, I say let's let him do what he needs to do."

Tom shakes his head. "Jack, I'm with Dixon here. This is awfully short-sighted..." Jack looks over at Tom and angrily says "That's not your call to make! Anyway, we leave at 1200 hours for Santiago. Let's end this."

Jack then stands up and walks away in a huff. The rest of the team eventually follows suit. But, before he can leave, Dixon is grabbed on the arm by Tom. Dixon turns to him and asks "What is it?" Tom watches as the rest of the team walks out of the conference room.

Then, Tom looks at Dixon and asks "Do you sometimes find yourself wondering if you're the only person with common sense around here?" Dixon remorsefully says "In moments like this...I do."

Tom nods his head affirmatively and says "Good to know that someone else hasn't forgotten what kind of man Sloane is capable of. I had to literally beg Jack to get his conversation in Sicily recorded." Dixon responds "I can imagine. But, I think you might have caught something there with the tainted food. While they're gone, we should look at Omnifam's records...see if we can spot any irregularities."

Tom smirks and says "Great idea. No reason a couple of recent gunshot victims can't still be useful around here!" Dixon smirks back as they walk out of the conference room.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: The mission goes forward just as it did in the actual episode. Sinclair, the nuclear physicist, is rescued. After that is done, Nadia finds a bloody-faced Sloane, who just got done bludgeoning one of Sloane clone's goons to death with a large, metal object. Meanwhile, Dixon and Tom's research finds little of note, much to the chagrin of both of them.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment<strong>_

We find Tom sitting on his couch in the living room. Outside a window, we see it's nighttime. He's leaning over his coffee table, looking at various color samples, presumably for his bedroom.

As he takes a drink out of a longneck beer bottle, Nadia walks in the front door. Tom swallows his drink, stands up quickly and asks "Hey, how did things go in Santiago?" Nadia closes the front door and looks down at the ground. She says nothing as she has a look of real concern on her face.

Tom walks up to her and gently puts his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, what is it? Did something happen?" Nadia looks up at Tom and says "I've lost my father. He's...gone."

Tom raises his eyebrows. "What do you mean...gone?" Nadia says "No, not like that. He's back to being obsessed. When I got to the lab in Santiago, he just stood there, under this giant Rambaldi sphere...his face was splattered with blood, standing over this man he beat to death with a blunt metal object. He told me it was all over, but, I know it's anything but over. I could see it in his eyes...I could hear it in his voice..."

Nadia starts tearing up and falls into Tom's arms in search of comfort. "Tom, I know you don't trust him, and I should have listened." Tom, clutching to Nadia closely, solemnly says "Nadia, remember what we were talking about a few days ago, about family mattering so much to us?"

Nadia, her face buried in Tom's chest, lets out a muffled "Yeah?" Tom continues. "We all are clouded by our love and feelings for our own family. We put so much hope and faith into them, and it hurts so much when they disappoint us. I was clouded for almost two years, thinking my sister hated me. But, turns out that was far from the truth, but I could never see it until now. It's just so hard to think rationally when it comes to family, especially when things go bad, because of the love and strong feelings we have for them."

Tom then releases the hug and lifts Nadia's head up to look at him. Tom says "I know you want nothing but the best from your father, and you're willing to do anything to earn his love and respect. And I realize it's not my place to tell you what to do or what to think when it comes to him, because he's your flesh and blood, and you have feelings for him that I have no place to try to influence. All I can do is be here for you and just hope what he said to you in Santiago was true, because I don't want to see you get hurt." Nadia wipes some tears away and says "Thank you for understanding what I'm going through. I don't know what to think anymore..."

Tom then starts rubbing Nadia's shoulders to try to set her mind at ease a bit. "Remember, I came to APO to be there for you and to help you when it just gets to be too much. And in return, you've been there for me to help me through all my moments of woe and shame. We'll get through this, just as we've gotten through everything that has stood in our way. Bad childhoods...Project Alloy...Rambaldi Fluid...the Minsk mission...my death and resurrection...and yet, despite all that bullshit, here we are. Right here, right now." Nadia, still teary-eyed, cracks a small smile at that. "I remember you said that to me in your first day in APO!"

Tom smiles back. "I meant it then, and I mean it now. Being with you has taught me that the greatest human emotion in this world isn't greed, the desire for power, fear or anger...but love. Moments like this, where we can look at each other and smile, despite whatever else might be trying to influence us, has taught me that fact. And as long as we're together...as long as, no matter what happens around us, we can still look at each other with love in our hearts and smiles on our faces, then WE have the advantage over anything else that's going on in this world. We can take on anything! You told me this past weekend that we're in this together. 'This' is more than just sharing a home or a bed. 'This' is our problems, our hopes, our desires, our feelings...everything that makes up who we are as human beings...and as long as we're sharing all of 'this', then I'll be there for you, just as you've been there for me. You don't have to ever question where my loyalty lies. You're all that matters to me."

Nadia then gives Tom another hug. "Thank you...thank you for caring about me so much and being there to put my mind at ease. You don't know what all you just said means to me. And you're so right about our love...being with you makes everything so much easier to handle. Even though I don't understand my father...it's so comforting to know that you're my sure thing. I've spent all my life fending for myself, and now, I have you in my corner, always there for me. You don't know what that means to me."

Tom then says "Actually I fully understand where you're coming from. I was tied into so many knots before I came into APO, and being with you helps untie those knots and gives me the peace that I've sought all my life." Tom then lightly touches Nadia's face. "I love you, beautiful." Nadia grins wide, wipes away some of her tears, and says "I love you, handsome!"

In typical Nadia fashion, she then grabs the back of Tom's head and pulls it down to her face so she can give him a deep kiss. When the release after a good 20 seconds, Tom smiles and says "Have I ever mentioned how great of a kisser you are?" Nadia, her mood already improved from when she walked in the door, giggles and says "You just did."

Tom chuckles a bit and says "Are you hungry? I didn't know when you were getting back, otherwise I would have made dinner." Nadia looks over at the coffee table and spots Tom's longneck. "I'm not hungry, but I'll have whatever you're having."

Tom turns and says "Coming right up!" Nadia cracks a small smile as she walks into the living room and takes her seat. Tom notices she's feeling better already and smiles as he reaches the kitchen.

Tom then opens the fridge and says "You know, I was kind of hoping you could help me out with a little problem tonight." Nadia looks at him curiously. "What do you need?"

Tom, as he grabs Nadia a beer from the fridge, he says "I stopped by the hardware store on the way home from work and I'm having a tough time figuring out what color we should use for the bedroom. I've got the samples there on the coffee table, I was hoping you could offer your advice on them." As Tom opens up Nadia's beer bottle, she looks down and sees the samples. A little surprised, she asks "I thought you were going to let me pick the color samples!"

Tom walks to the living room and hands her a beer and takes his seat next to her. "Well, I got a little antsy. But, I just wanted to get your opinion on these colors I was thinking about. If you don't like them, I'll let you get new samples." Nadia takes a drink of her beer, then sets down the bottle and picks up the three samples: dark orangish-red, a light, creamy green, and a banana-like yellow.

Nadia gets a look of disgust on her face as she tosses the yellow one away. "Ugh, I hate that color. Looks like something we'd put in a kid's room." Tom chuckles. "Good, I didn't like it either, but the paint guy says that color has been trendy of late. I thought he was full of crap, too."

Nadia then holds up the other two samples and examines them closely. She then tosses the green one away and holds up the orangish-red one. "I like this one. This color will be so pretty when the sun is shining in during the day, but I also like the mood it would set in the evening...something very sensual about this color." Tom smirks at that and says "I thought that as well. So, is it fair to say that we've picked our color then, or do you want to do more research?"

Nadia continues to stare at the color sample for a few seconds. Then, she nods and says "Let's do it. This is the perfect color. In fact, I like it for the whole apartment." Tom looks a bit surprised at that. "Really? I thought you wanted to make this place multi-colored."

Nadia then scoots over closer to Tom and says "Well, I did. But, for one, this place is small enough already. And sometimes, just like in life, you find the one that just feels right." Tom smiles at that, knowing where she's coming from.

Nadia then looks back at the color sample. "Besides, it'll come in handy when we want to just lie here on the couch and do this..." Nadia then turns and gives Tom a sensual kiss on the cheek. When she's done, Tom yanks the sample out of Nadia's hand, licks his own hand, rubs his forehead, and then slaps the color sample on his forehead. "Well then, if this color really gets you in the mood, then why wait until we paint?"

Nadia busts out laughing at Tom's goofiness. Tom laughs as well, happy that Nadia is back to enjoying life again. Then, Nadia stops laughing, leans in close to Tom's face, and says "Just kiss me, you fool!" The two then make out to end the chapter...having completely forgotten about the day's events already.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	18. Ch 17: Old Friends, New Problems

**OLD FRIENDS, NEW PROBLEMS**

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episodes 17 and 18_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment<strong>_

Sydney is sitting in the living room reading 'The DaVinci Code'. She appears to be quite comfortable and quite engrossed in what she reading until she hears a knock on the door.

She smiles, knowing who it is. She gets up quickly and jogs up to the door and opens it, revealing Tom and Nadia standing on the other side.

Sydney stands out of the way and says "Hey, come in!" Nadia and Tom both happily walk into Sydney's apartment. As she walks in, Nadia says "This place smells nice..."

Sydney quickly says "I have a candle going. You like it?" As she and Tom walk towards the kitchen, Nadia says "Yeah, I love the smell of vanilla!"

Tom smirks and replies "Yeah, it smells a lot better than paint!" Sydney laughs and asks "How far did you two get today?"

Nadia says "Well, we got the first coat on in the whole apartment, but we need to let it air out! The paint smell is SO powerful!" Tom nods and says "Yeah, there was no way we were going to get any sleep there tonight. Thanks for letting us stay here while we air the place out. We won't be here long."

Sydney shakes her head. "Oh stop, that extra bedroom is still technically Nadia's, so you can be here however long you need." Tom rubs Nadia's shoulder as she tells Sydney "Well, we still appreciate you letting us refugees stay here."

Tom then turns to Nadia. "I have to go get my bag from the car, I'll be right back, babe." Nadia smiles and says "Alright."

As Tom walks off, Nadia's cell phone goes off. She answers and asks "Hello?" On the other line, we hear an older woman's pained voice "Nadia..."

Nadia looks surprised all of the sudden as she asks "Sophia, is that you?" The woman says "It's so good to hear your voice..."

Nadia is now convinced it's Sophia, but she's not sure what to think now. "Yours too...I'm so surprised you're calling, it's been..." Sophia cuts her off. "...a long time, yes. I'm flying to Los Angeles, I was hoping we might catch up."

Nadia quickly responds "I'd love to. Why don't I meet you at the airport?" Sophia pauses for a bit, then says "That would be wonderful. I arrive in the morning."

Tom walks in with his luggage as Nadia says "Ok, I'll see you then" and hangs up with a worried look on her face. Sydney asks "Who was that, Nadia?"

Nadia says "That was Sophia, my orphan mother from Argentina." Tom and Sydney both look surprised. Tom, as he's walking down the steps, asks "Really? How's she doing?"

Nadia shakes her head. "I haven't heard from her for so long, I have no idea. But, she's coming in to LAX tomorrow morning and she wants us to catch up." Tom winces. "Damn, and I have a meeting first thing in the morning. How are we going to do this?"

Sydney says "I'll go with Nadia and pick her up from the airport." Tom smiles and says "Thanks." Tom then turns to Nadia and says "I'll try to catch up with you later in the morning. I really want to meet the woman that took care of you growing up. It'd be an honor."

Nadia smiles and says "I'm sure she'll want to meet you too. We should be getting some sleep, she's getting in early." Sydney, a little concerned, asks "I have some leftovers in the fridge..."

Tom holds up his hand. "Thanks, we already ate." Tom then looks down at Sydney's hands, which is holding the "The DaVinci Code" book. He chuckles and says "Don't you think reading that book is a little ironic considering what we do for a living?"

Sydney laughs and says "It's research!" Tom laughs and shakes his head as he starts heading towards the bedroom. "Uh-huh, right. Anyway, I'm going to bed."

Nadia springs up and says "Wait for me!" Nadia then turns to Sydney and says "Good night, Syd." Sydney smiles and says "Good night, you two."

Nadia follows Tom to her former bedroom while Sydney goes back to the living room to read some more.

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: Sydney and Nadia go to the airport the next morning. Nadia expresses to Sydney that she's worried about seeing Sophia because, the last time they saw each other, Nadia was in an Argentinian prison. However, all of Nadia's concerns are rendered moot when they see Sophia in a wheelchair, looking very much the worse for the wear, with bruises under her eyes. They take her to the hospital, where Sloane, Sydney, and Nadia hear Sophia's account of what happened. Sydney and Sloane eventually leave the hospital room, leaving Nadia and Sophia alone. We pick back up not long after they leave.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sophia's hospital room<strong>_

Nadia is seated on Sophia's bedside. Sophia tells Nadia "You've grown up into a beautiful woman...so different from the girl I once knew. You were so angry then." Nadia looks away and says "I know it's so hard to believe...at least it is for me..." Nadia then looks back at Sophia. "...but I have a home now. I have a family, a boyfriend that loves me to no end...I finally feel like I belong somewhere."

Sophia says "Your father is a good man, too. I can tell." This appears to give Nadia some comfort after the uncertainty of the Santiago mission. She eventually says "You should rest now. I'll be by tonight to check on you."

Nadia starts to get up, but Sophia says "Nadia, wait". Sophia then gives Nadia the necklace of San Marcos, and then explains its significance.

As Nadia looks down at the necklace shocked, Tom suddenly walks into the room. He says "I'm so sorry I'm late, I got tied up..." Sophia eyes then bug out in surprise at the sight of Tom. Tom notices and looks a little concerned now. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I can wait outside..."

Sophia then laughs and puts her hand over her chest. "Oh no, I'm sorry I gave you that impression. You just startled me is all." Tom walks over next to Nadia and puts his right hand on Sophia's right hand, which she takes notice of immediately. As she's examining Tom's hand, he tells her "I'm sorry, I was just so excited to see the woman that took care of Nadia growing up."

Before Sophia can respond, Nadia smiles wide and says "This is my boyfriend, Tom Falk." Sophia smiles wide at Tom. "He's so handsome, Nadia! I always saw you falling in love with someone like this..."

Tom raises an eyebrow a bit. "A blonde haired, blue eyed guy from about the most rural part of America you can imagine? Isn't that a bit of a stretch for an orphan from Argentina?" Sophia laughs and says "No! I meant someone strong...someone kind like you. Someone who would do anything for Nadia."

Tom slowly turns to Nadia and looks at her incredulously. "You've been talking about me, I see..." Nadia giggles and says "I just told her that you love me to no end! And believe me, the feeling's mutual!"

Tom smirks and turns back to Sophia and gets a look of concern on his face. "Nadia told me what happened to you on the way here. I'm sorry that had to happen to you. Look, you don't know how much I respect you for being there for Nadia growing up." Sophia smiles and says "Well, I'm glad you can pick up where I left off!"

Tom laughs and shakes his head. "Hey, we take care of each other." As he says that, Nadia rubs Tom's shoulders a bit and says "Yeah, we do. He's the best thing that has come into my life."

Sophia looks really touched to see them getting along so well. Nadia then gets a call on her cell phone. She picks up the phone and tells Tom and Sophia "Excuse me" and walks out from the room, leaving Tom and Sophia alone.

Tom takes Nadia's seat next to Sophia. "So, Nadia tells me you were beat up in Lisbon?" Sophia waves her hand. "I don't want to talk about me. I want to talk about the man in Nadia's life."

Tom lets out a flattered laugh. "Come on, what is there to say?" Sophia then asks "Well, how did you two meet? Oh, and I already know she's an intelligence agent, so you don't have to play coy with me!"

Tom nods and says "Well, this will make things a little easier. Back in 2001, we collaborated on a mission in Argentina, and even though I was married at the time, we remained good friends throughout the years. Anyway..." Tom then looks down, which concerns Sophia a bit. Tom then says "...we both went through some hardship over the last couple years, not the least of which my divorce from my ex. And when the opportunity came to move to Los Angeles and reunite with Nadia, I couldn't say no. I wanted to be there for her more than anything in this world. Sometimes, fate has a funny way of working things out."

Sophia laughs a bit at that. "That's so true, isn't it?" Sophia then grabs Tom's right hand (his Project Alloy hand) and starts rubbing and squeezing it a bit. Tom looks down a little confused, but before he can say anything, Sophia says "Nadia was very angry at the world growing up, and found it so hard to open up to anyone..." Tom nods. "I can relate. I was an angry kid myself."

Sophia asks "What did you have to be angry at?" Tom looks down and says "My dad was a drunk piece of garbage and my mom...one of the most wonderful people in this world...died when I was a baby when a drunk driver hit her car head-on. Once I learned what happened, I became bitter at the world, and to help vent my rage, I became a hellraiser growing up. But..." Tom looks back at Sophia with a sincere look on his face. "...all of the agony I've gone through in life goes away when I'm with Nadia. She centers me. She makes me realize that I do have something worth holding on to, something worth cherishing, and something worth dying for. I...nearly died recently trying to save her, and if I could do it all again, I would. I thought I lost everything a couple years ago after a botched mission in Torino..."

Sophia looks away after he says 'Torino'. Tom notices and says "What is it?" Sophia looks back and, with a smile returning to her face, says "I'm just happy Nadia means that much to someone."

As she says that, Nadia walks back into the room smiling. She immediately asks "I see you two are getting along well." Tom and Sophia both smile back at Nadia. Sophia then says "Don't ever lose this man. He loves you so much and would do anything for you." Nadia turns to Tom and smiles. "I know. He already has."

Tom looks at Nadia's neck and notices Sophia's necklace. "Hey, when did you get the necklace?" Nadia says "Sophia just gave it to me. It's San Marcos." Tom smiles and says "Looks beautiful on you. It compliments you well." Nadia gives Tom a flattered smile while Sophia quickly says "I thought it would."

Tom looks back at Sophia with a smirk, then back at Nadia and says "You wouldn't believe the things Sophia had to say about you, Nadia..." Nadia's eyes bug out and she asks in a surprised tone "What did you tell him, Sophia?" Tom starts laughing as Sophia says "Oh, your boyfriend is just being silly! I didn't say anything that would demean you!"

Nadia laughs and shakes her head a bit. She then tells Tom "I hate to do this, but we need to get back to work." Tom nods and looks back at Sophia. "It was so nice to meet you. Let us know if you need anything." Sophia says "I will."

Nadia then says "I'll be back tonight to check on you. Take care." Sophia says "I'd say likewise, but I think you two can take care of each other!" Tom and Nadia then walk out of the room together. Sophia then looks up at the ceiling and smiles wide. To no one in particular, she whispers "They made it..."

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: While all that is going on, Dixon and Vaughn are sent to locate the Hydrosek, and most of Episode 17 centers around that mission. Tom's role is minor and not worth mentioning. Meanwhile, Sloane does some investigating into Sophia and confronts her about a man she killed. She alleges she killed the man to protect the girls at the orphanage and, in an attempt to protect her, changed Nadia's last name to Santos while she was a baby. She also claims that the men that were after her in Lisbon wanted Nadia, not her. We pick things up at the end of the episode, after Sloane and Jack fill in Sydney and Nadia on the details of Elena Derevko's KGB history.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sloane's office at APO<strong>_

Tom stands there, next to Nadia and Sydney, listening to everything about Elena Derevko. Jack then says "I received a message from an old associate about a year ago, and it led me to one Elena's safehouses in Warsaw." Sloane then hands Sydney and Nadia the large packets of files she had acquired on them over the years.

Tom looks at some of the things in their files. He then looks back at Jack. "So, why was I called in for this?" Sloane then slides Tom a similarly large packet. As he does that, Jack says "My associate gave me Sydney and Nadia's packets because he knew about their involvement with Rambaldi. But, he didn't inform me about your packet until after your apparent Rambaldi association came up recently. He just gave me that information today."

Tom thumbs through his packet and just shakes his head in astonishment. "These are old Bunker police reports...grades from school...oh wow..." Tom then holds up a newspaper clipping. "This is where she found me." Nadia and Sydney look over at what he's looking at and see an article along with a picture of Tom standing in front of hundreds of bricks of meth.

Tom then starts going through the rest of Elena's files on him. Then, his face contorts in anger when he comes across a page. "She was behind Project Alloy...it was all her, she set everything up! What the freaking hell?" Jack, Sloane, Nadia, and Sydney all remain silent as Tom continues frantically paging through his packet.

He starts reading through some of Elena's random writings. He starts to notice something awry. "She never calls me by my name, but instead, she calls me 'the Caretaker'. Why?" Jack blankly says "Do you really need to ask?"

Tom pauses for a bit, and thinks for a second. He then appears to realize something and looks over at Sydney and Nadia concerned. He then looks back over at Jack and Sloane. "Is this my role in Rambaldi's prophecy?"

Before they can answer, Tom frantically goes through the binder. "Maybe the Rambaldi document that tells about me is here..." Jack says "No, it's not. We didn't find anything in Elena's possession that alludes to your role, besides what you're reading."

Tom then slams his folder shut angrily, forcing a picture to go flying from the folder. Tom doesn't notice as he angrily says "This woman knows everything there is to know about me...she knows me better than myself...and I've never even met her! And I still don't know my damn role, just that I'm 'the Caretaker'...whatever that means!"

Nadia bends over to pick up the picture that flew from his folder, and holds it up and looks surprised. "Tom...look at this." Tom, still upset, look at the picture with her. Immediately, his anger gets replaced by surprise.

It's a picture of Tom and Nadia standing and smiling at each other in front of an ocean. Tom takes the picture and actually smiles at what he's seeing. He then looks at the back of the picture and sees "The Passenger and The Caretaker – June 2001, Buenos Aires" written on the back.

Sydney now looks at the picture and notices a few things. "Tom, you had a goatee...and Nadia, your hair was a little shorter...when was this taken?" Tom looks up at Sydney and says "This was taken during the mission me and Nadia were on in 2001. We had someone tailing us for much of that mission, but I never got a good look at her. Elena must have been that tail."

Tom looks at Jack and Sloane. "If it's ok, I'd like to keep this picture." Jack nods. "That's fine. You three can keep your files and examine them further if you like. They don't leave APO, though."

Tom quickly scoops up his files and walks out of the room, still mentally unbalanced over what was just revealed.

As he's walking out, we see us scan in on Nadia's necklace, and then we're taken to a hidden room, where the whole conversation was apparently recorded through that necklace.

After Avian (the coke-bottle glasses guy) hangs up with Sophia...er, Elena, she smiles as she picks up the phone and dials a number. We hear her say "It's Elena. Get ready, it's almost time to see your old friend again. Just wait for my signal."

She casually sets the phone down, leans back, and smiles. She happily whispers "It's all coming together..."

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: We now move on to the events in Episode 18. Sophia has been released from the hospital, and by then, Tom and Nadia are back in Tom's apartment...the paint smell apparently having cleared off. Sydney offers Nadia's old room for Sophia to stay in. Sydney, Vaughn, and Dixon, meanwhile, are able to retrieve the Hydrosek, much to Elena's chagrin. This failure causes Elena to invite Tom and Nadia over for dinner at Sydney's as part of her next move.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment<strong>_

Elena and Nadia are in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Nadia, of course, still thinks Elena is really Sophia. As Elena pulls out some empanadas from the oven, Nadia hears a knock on the door.

She smiles wide and runs up to the front door. She opens and finds Tom standing there with a bottle of wine in his right hand. Tom looks a little sheepish, but still forces a smile on his face.

Tom gives Nadia a hug. As they hug, Nadia whispers "Are you ok? I know Elena's packet is still bothering you..." Still hugging, Tom says "I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

They release the hug with smiles on their faces. Tom follows Nadia down the steps and sees Elena in the kitchen. Elena smiles and says "Ah, Nadia's handsome man!" Tom forces a smile on his face and gives Elena a hug. "Good to see you. You look better already."

Elena releases the hug and says "Everyone has been so helpful since I arrived. Sydney has been a great host." Nadia smiles and says "I'd have you stay at our place, but we only have one bedroom."

Elena laughs and says "Well, it's just you two, right? That's all you need." Tom nods his head and says "I know. Neither of us want a big place. In fact, eventually, I want to take Nadia with me to Mexico and live in a small place on the beach in San Felipe. Beautiful weather all year, some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets you'll ever see, and just the two of us...living out our lives in peace."

Elena smiles, and Nadia turns to Elena and says "Isn't he so romantic?" Elena quickly replies "He is! And with what you both have gone through, I can't think of a better escape!"

Tom looks at Nadia a little confused, then back at Elena. "Has Nadia been talking to you about my past?" Elena returns the confused look. "No..." Suddenly, Elena realizes she made an accidental slip when she alluded to both of their rough pasts. Improvising, Elena says "...I just remember you telling me in the hospital about your parents and your angry childhood growing up."

Nadia, not picking up on Elena's slip, says "Plus, I think we both missed each other a lot between the time we met and the time we reunited in APO. It was almost 4 years since we had seen each other." Tom keeps glaring at Elena, still a little leery. Then, he relaxes and says "She's right. But, we still kept in touch over the years, so it wasn't all that bad."

Tom then starts looking around. "Anything I can do to help?" Nadia smiles and says "No, everything's just about ready. Go sit at the table and pour us our wine!"

Tom gives Nadia a smirk and says "Yes, ma'am!" He then grabs the bottle of wine he had set on the breakfast bar and walks to the kitchen. But, as he walks towards the table, he realizes that something about Sophia doesn't seem right.

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: The three then eat their dinner. Nadia has to get up mid-meal and answer her cell phone in her bedroom. This causes Elena some concern, since Avian was in there on her laptop. However, Nadia comes out not suspecting a thing. Nadia and Elena seem to be having fun, and Tom tries to keep a happy face, but he's noticeably glum at times. We pick back up after the dinner.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in Los Angeles<strong>_

Nadia is driving Tom's car back to their apartment. Tom has his head resting on his right hand, looking out the passenger's window. He looks like he's brooding over something.

Nadia looks over and says "You haven't said anything since we got in the car..." Tom looks over and says "I'm sorry. It's just...I still can't get over the fact that a woman I've never met knows so much about me and has been stalking me all these years, without me suspecting a damn thing. And now...I have a fancy Rambaldi name like you and Sydney, but I still don't know a damn thing about what it is I'm supposedly supposed to do. I hope I didn't come across too crabby during the dinner."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, you were fine. I don't think Sophia noticed, but I could tell this was weighing on you. Remember, Elena kept information on me..." Tom looks back at her, still upset. "You've known for some time that you had a role in this prophecy. Sydney too. But, this is all still new to me, so forgive me for trying to come to grips with it."

Nadia reminds Tom "You've known that this was a possibility for a few months now, but you've been able to handle it. Why are you so concerned now?" Tom snaps back angrily "All my life, I've always thought I was in control of my own actions and my own fate! I lived my life on my terms! But, all Elena's stuff on me proves that I wasn't in control of JACK SHIT!"

Nadia now looks really concerned and says "Please don't yell at me...I'm not the one you're angry at." Tom looks away and puts his head into his hand again. He sighs and says "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just...as I read more and more of what she has on me...I find more and more that my whole life has been a giant lie."

Nadia shakes her head as she exits the freeway. "How do you think I feel? We both have had our own struggles to get to this point, and we both have been affected by Elena and this prophecy well before now. This bothers me too, but we can let it destroy us or we can just do what we've been doing: take comfort in each other and realize that there's more to our lives than this prophecy." Tom hangs his head. "I just want all of this to be over. I just want to treat this like cough medicine and just gulp it down in one, quick, painless shot and just move on. And I just want to know what I'm 'supposed' to do."

Nadia puts her hand on Tom's knee and cracks a reassuring smile. "We already know you're supposed to love me, and you're doing a good job at that!" Tom looks at Nadia and cracks a small smile. Then, he turns back to look out the passenger's window. His frown returns as he says "Something else has been bothering me, and I've been afraid to talk to you about this."

Nadia, a little concerned, asks "What is it?" Tom says "Does something about Sophia seem a little...off to you?" Nadia quickly replies "No! Why would you think that?"

Tom looks back at Nadia. "I've been unsure about her since I met her in the hospital. And tonight...her comment about 'what we've both gone through'...the way she said it made it seem like she knows more than she lets on."

Nadia pulls up to their parking spot at Tom's apartment, and then turns to Tom. "You're being paranoid. Sophia has always been a good judge of character, and tonight, she did say she was referencing something you told her in the hospital the other day." Tom then asks, still concerned "Thousands upon thousands of people grow up in broken families. What's the big deal with me? Is she always so over-complimentary?"

Nadia giggles a bit. "Actually, yes! She would always try to make us feel better at the orphanage by saying things that we knew weren't true, but were meant to make us feel better about ourselves." Tom gives Nadia a reassured smile. "I guess that makes sense. And you're right...my mind is probably just scrambled over this Elena business."

Nadia then puts her hand on Tom's shoulder and stops rubbing it. "Everything's going to be fine. Now come on, let's just go inside and have a nice, quiet evening. Tomorrow's a new day." Tom grabs Nadia's hand and kisses it. "Sure, babe. By the way, I really did enjoy dinner tonight. You're a hell of a cook!"

Nadia opens the driver's side door. "And we'll be able to enjoy my cooking for the next couple days. Can you help me with the leftovers?" Tom smiles as he opens his passenger's door to start grabbing leftovers from the back seat.

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: After this happens, Sydney goes back in time (sort of) to pose as her mother to try to convince her sick-by-nuclear-radiation father to tell her where Dr. Liddell is so he can cure Jack. Meanwhile, Marshall approaches Nadia and asks why she requested the Hydrosek be moved. Tom and Nadia go to the facility where the Hydrosek is moved, thinking that someone has hacked the system. By the time they arrive, Elena has swiped the Hydrosek and Avian (aka Coke Bottle Glasses guy) is dead.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Low-security facility in Los Angeles<strong>_

Tom and Nadia stand over Avian's dead body. Nadia says "The Hydrosek is gone." Tom shakes his head. "And so is the man that personally over-saw my Project Alloy experiment."

Nadia looks at Tom surprised. "I thought Elena was behind Project Alloy." Tom looks at her seriously and says "I never saw her. But, this man was there in Mexico City, after I was transported there from Torino, to oversee my recovery. And now, he's dead. What goes around, comes around."

Nadia says nothing, then jumps as Tom's cell phone rings. Tom picks up the phone and doesn't recognize the number, but answers anyway. He asks "Hello?"

On the other line, we hear someone's sinister laugh, followed by "Well, well, well, if it isn't Tom Falk...or should I say Halcón Diablo?" Tom's jaw drops as he stands up from a squatting position. He thinks he knows who this is...but, it can't be him. Finally, Tom asks "Who is this?"

The man laughs loudly and says "How can you say that to the man who once was your mentor?" Tom starts shaking his head. "Mitch? You're alive?" Nadia looks at Tom all confused, recognizing that name from Tom's past.

Mitch confidently says "What would give you the impression that I was dead?" Tom quickly replies "Because Italian authorities found your body in the rubble in Torino! You were dead!"

Tom hears a pause on the line, followed by "Project Helix is wonderful, isn't it?" Tom hangs his head and closes his eyes, not believing what he's hearing. Finally, he asks "What do you want, you effing rat?"

Mitch calmly says "Patience, patience. I know patience is something you lack, but you're just going to have to have some if you want what I have." Tom yells into the phone "WHAT DO YOU HAVE, YOU BACKSTABBING PIECE OF CRAP?"

Mitch laughs. "Easy! In time, we'll meet again, and I'll show you. Believe me, you're going to want this! Just keep your phone handy, I'll have further instructions in the coming days. Oh, and Elena Derevko is long gone now, so you don't have to worry about pursuing her after we're done." Tom pulls the phone away from his ear and threatens to throw it on the wall, but thinks better of it and gets back on the line. "I'll be waiting, you piece of shit. Make your time, and I'll be waiting."

Mitch chuckles a bit. "Strength and honor, old friend." Before Tom can respond, Mitch hangs up.

Tom slams his phone shut, then walks over and leans up against a wall, trying to digest what went down. Nadia stays frozen and asks "That was the man that helped get your team killed. How did he survive?"

Tom, still leaning on the wall in dismay, says "Project freaking Helix. What we found in the rubble was his double. Apparently, the scum-sucking rat has been alive and well for nearly two years since that day."

Nadia walks up to Tom and asks "What did he want?" Tom shakes his head. "I don't know. He said he'd be in touch with me later. He apparently has something I'd really want."

Nadia says "We have to tell APO about this." Tom turns to her quickly and shakes his head. "No, this is my problem. And only I can take care of it. This is personal."

Nadia goes to say something, but Tom starts walking towards the door. "We have to get out of here." Nadia follows Tom out of the door.

As Tom walks towards the front door, he's got a scowl on his face. He's forgotten about Elena's packet already.

Only one thing is on his mind: The man who betrayed him and helped cause the failed Torino mission... and what he was going to do to him when they meet.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	19. Ch 18: End Of The Bargain

**END OF THE BARGAIN**

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episodes 19 and 20_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in Los Angeles<strong>_

It's nighttime in Los Angeles. There is not a star to be seen in the sky, as it's very cloudy.

We find Tom standing in a Los Angeles aqueduct and underneath an overpass. He's leaning against his black Cadillac, just staring off into space. The only thing providing light is a lone fluorescent tube under the overpass.

In addition to Mitch, he's also allowed some of his thoughts about Elena's files on him creep back into his mind, and neither issue is giving him much reason to feel happy about life right now. He even finds it hard to relax at home with Nadia, despite her best efforts.

Suddenly, his thoughts are broken up by a car coming down the ramp towards him. The car flashes its lights at him, and this appears to give Tom some relief over who it could possibly be.

The car pulls up next to Tom's and shuts off. Out steps Mike, Tom's friend from Storm Crew.

The two walk up to each other and give each other a poundhug. Tom asks "Thanks for getting here as quickly as you could." Mike shakes his head as he releases the hug. "No problem. Why are we meeting like this...in our old Anti-Cartel meeting spot?"

Tom blankly says "I didn't want to risk saying anything over your phone line, and I wanted to make sure your presence in Los Angeles remains unknown." Mike folds his arms. "Why? What's going on?"

Tom sighs and says "Mitch is alive." Mike gets a look of shock on his face. "What? How is that possible, they found his body..."

Tom cuts him off and says "Project Helix." Mike quickly gets a dismayed look on his face and turns and slams his hand on the hood of his car. "That son of a bitch!"

Tom looks surprised at Mike's uncharacteristic outburst and says "Calm down, Mike. What happened to my friend that had ice water running through his veins?" Mike sighs and turns back to Tom. "I just hate that man with a passion for what he did to us. Sorry about that."

Tom shakes his head. "Nothing to be sorry about, just surprised me is all. I had a similar reaction when he called me last night." Mike, still angry, says "And what did the rat bastard have to say?"

Tom quickly replies "He told me that he's going to be contacting me soon. He's in league with this ex-KGB cancer named Elena Derevko, and he has something that I apparently want. He wouldn't say what, and he wouldn't say when or how he'd contact me. That's why you're here now." Mike says "Do you want me to try to find Mitch before he contacts you?"

Tom shakes his head quickly. "No, but I want you there at our meet." Mike quickly asks "So I can make sure everything is on the up-and-up?"

Tom looks down. "That, and..." Tom then pauses and shakes his head. Mike looks concerned at this. "Tom, what is it?"

Tom, still looking down, says "Torino could have been averted when we formed Storm Crew. I should have just left Mitch at Langley to rot..." Tom then looks up at Mike solemnly. "...and I should have made you my right-hand man from the get-go. You were my closest and most loyal friend for nearly my entire run in the Anti-Cartel, and I lost sight of that. That's my second biggest regret in life next to tripping over that freaking wire in Torino."

Mike pats Tom on the shoulder. "Tom, I understood your reasons at the time. The guy did teach you and me the ropes and you trusted him. You couldn't have seen what he'd do." Tom quickly replies "Yeah, but I know you hated him for trying to sabotage us after we avenged Matt Aguero's death..."

Mike closes his eyes and says "I thought we agreed to never even think about that name..." Tom quickly says "I know, I know, I won't bring him up again. Anyway, I want you here so, when I know when and where we're meeting, you can scout it out. Once you're there, we'll work on a plan of action. Might be tonight, might be tomorrow, might be a week from now...who knows."

Mike nods his head. "I understand. I can lay low, I have a friend that wouldn't mind if I stayed in his basement for a few days. He'll know to keep me anonymous." Tom nods. "Good, and save that number I called you on earlier today. It's a prepay, so they can't trace it back to me."

Mike nods again. "Gotcha. So, what do you know about this Elena Derevko?" Tom sighs and says "Not much...except that she knows everything there is to know about me."

Mike tilts his head in confusion. "How?" Tom quickly replies "She's been keeping tabs on me since I joined the CIA. And I think she was the tail that was following us in the Conquistadores mission in 2001."

Mike thinks for a bit, then says "Why does she care so much about you?" Tom looks down and leans back on his car. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Mike leans on his car and folds his arms. "I couldn't believe half the things we saw in Dark Cover. What makes this different?" Tom looks up and replies "This goes beyond Dark Cover. Apparently, some Italian prophet from the 15th Century decided that I was going to be a part of his grand prophecy."

Mike's jaw drops a bit. "That's ridiculous! You?" Tom nods his head slowly. "Sydney and Nadia have known for some time that they're a part of it. Part of the hardship that Nadia has gone through in her life is related to her role in the prophecy...I won't even open that can of worms here. But, we started getting suspicions a couple months ago when it was revealed that me and Nadia have something in our bloodstreams that interacts with our pheromones. That's why my head was all scrambled during the Conquistadores mission, I was falling in love with her. Anyway, it's a Rambaldi device..."

Mike quickly cuts him off. "A what device?" Tom replies "Milo Rambaldi is the prophet. The Covenant was primarily after his prophecy. We didn't deal with Rambaldi too much in Dark Cover, but you remember James Lennox talking about him every once in a while, right?"

Mike nods his head, remembering something. "Oh yeah, right. So, what are you supposed to do in this prophecy?" Tom shakes his head. "I have no freaking idea. All we know about is that Rambaldi has provided the tools to create this giant device that could possibly about the apocalypse, and that Sydney and Nadia are supposed to fight under this device for the fate of the world. I'm tied to Nadia's fate somehow, which explains what's in our blood."

Mike laughs a bit and shakes his head. "I thought you two were destined to be together, but not like this!" Tom chuckles back. "I know, I'm still having a hard time coming to grips with it. But, Elena's files confirmed that I do indeed have a role. Maybe Mitch can provide me with some more information. Anyway, we should be getting going, I don't want to linger here too long."

Mike nods and says "I better be getting to my friend's. I'll have my phone next to me at all times. Just give me the word." Tom nods and pats Mike on the shoulder. "Strength and honor." Mike smirks and says "Strength and honor...always."

The two then get in their respective cars to leave.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: Sloane's clone steals The Orchid at the Italian monastery. Remembering Tom's intel from Sloane's meet in Sicily, Jack confronts Sloane about The Orchid. This causes Sloane to spill the beans about infecting over 400 million people while at Omnifam, although he claims his motives weren't for apocalypse, but for a more peaceful species of human. Sloane ends up going through hypnosis in an attempt to get his clone to tell where The Orchid is. That part of the episode goes as originally aired. We pick up a few days after the hypnosis. The following takes place right before the events of Episode 20.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment<strong>_

Tom and Nadia are in the living room, applying the second coat of orangish-red paint on the walls. The floor is all covered in plastic tarp, to prevent any paint from dripping on the carpet. We see outside the window that it's nighttime.

Nadia looks like she's having a good time as she paints. She looks over at Tom, who's looks like he's focused on his work. With a smile, she tells him "I'm so happy with how this paint is turning out!" Tom nods. "Yeah, and I see what you were saying about the difference during the day and night."

Nadia smiles as she continues painting and exclaims "I know! When it's light outside, it's nice and light. And when it's night, this place gets so dark and calming!" Tom looks over at Nadia and smiles. "I'll admit that I was skeptical when you suggested painting this place, but it was a fantastic idea. It does give this place a new lease on life."

Nadia stops what she's doing and looks at Tom with a look of excitement. She says "Well, there you are!" Tom looks at her strangely and says "Huh?" Nadia shakes her head. "Oh, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to your smile! I've missed it the past few days!"

Tom chuckles a bit as he goes back to painting. "Having my mind occupied on painting helps. Plus, you've been very helpful throughout all of this...being the positive to my negative." Nadia walks over and gives Tom a kiss on the cheek. "I just like seeing you happy."

Tom chuckles again and says "Hey, that's my line!" Nadia laughs and says "Well, I hope you don't mind me borrowing it? It applies for me as well!"

Tom stops painting and turns to Nadia and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Look, when all of this is over, I want us to go on a vacation. I'm looking into getting us a villa for a couple weeks on the beach in San Felipe. I want you to see what it is I've been talking about." Nadia smiles at the prospect of the trip and says "So, you're really serious about us moving down there when we're done with APO..."

Tom shakes his head. "I know it's what I want, but I want you to make it what you want. I think when you get down there and see it for yourself, you'll understand why I love the place so much. Plus, I'd rather us live in Mexico, where we can use the money I have in my safehouses in Tijuana and Campeche." Nadia looks at him confused. "Why couldn't you bring it across the border?"

Tom quickly replies "I'm just being cautious. If I try to launder the money, I'll get 75 cents on the dollar. And I don't want to try to exchange that money for American dollars. They'll get suspicious at the exchange office if I give them brand new pesos that were made 10 years ago! They'll think they've gone through a time warp."

Just as Nadia goes to say something, Tom's cell phone goes off in his pocket. He picks up the phone and looks at the number and gets a worried look on his face. He looks back at Nadia with that worried look. Nadia notices and asks "Mitch?" Tom nods. "Yep. Might be time for the big dance number."

Tom picks up, and the first words of his mouth are "I thought I smelled rat just now." Mitch cockily laughs and says "My, my, you always were one to hold a grudge! Remember Matt Aguero?"

Tom just stands there and, completely ignoring the question, angrily replies "When and where are we doing this?" Mitch replies "Under the south side of the carousel at the Santa Monica Pier in an hour and a half. There's a bench there. No weapons. I'm coming by myself, and I expect you to do the same."

Tom lets out a sarcastic chuckle and says "It's not me you should worry about. How the hell can I trust you to keep YOUR end of the bargain?" Mitch quickly replies "Because Elena has ordered me not to kill you. Plus, I no longer would have anything to gain...unlike two years ago."

Tom sighs and says "Fine. I'll be there." Tom hangs up before Mitch can say anything else and looks over at Nadia. "I'm meeting him under the carousel at the Santa Monica Pier in an hour and a half."

Nadia thinks for a bit, then nods. "Of course, the pier has been closed this week for renovations. I'd be a quiet place if he wanted to kill you." Tom smirks. "Don't worry, I have an ace up my sleeve that I can play."

Nadia gives Tom a somewhat worried smile and then gives him a hug. "Be safe, ok? I'll finish this up for us and be at Sydney's by the time you're done. I'll tell her you're still back here finishing up." Tom then gives her a kiss on the lips. As he releases, he says "I'll see you in a couple hours, babe. I love you." Nadia quickly replies "I love you too."

Tom then walks out the front door...not caring that he's still in his painting clothes.

He gets into his car and opens up the center console, where his prepaid phone is. He dials a number. On the other end, Mike picks up. "Tom, he called?" Tom quickly replies "Santa Monica Pier, under the south side of the carousel, on a bench. Get there now, you're closer than me. The meet's at 9, call me when you arrive, we'll go over the plan at that time!"

Tom then hangs up his phone and starts the car.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Santa Monica Pier<strong>_

Tom sits patiently on the bench. It's a full moon tonight in the clear sky. The carousel directly behind him sits dormant and unlit. The stillness of the moment is only matched by the stillness of the air. Much to Tom's surprise, Mitch chose a well-lit area to meet at, as there's quite a few streetlights around.

Unlike when he rushed out of his apartment in his painting clothes, Tom has since found time to put on a windbreaker and athletic pants. They look brand new.

Tom scans his surroundings once again. Absolutely nothing going on. He sees some of the concession areas are in the process of being painted. He sighs when he sees the ladders and paint buckets...he wishes he was back at his apartment painting with Nadia instead of waiting for the man that betrayed him.

Tom looks down at his electronic watch. It's 8:59...for another 5 seconds. And just as it ticks down to 9:00, he hears a voice off to his right. "You were always one for being punctual, Falk."

Tom looks right and sees his betrayer...a man who, had this been a week ago, would have appeared to him like a ghost. Only instead of shock, Tom can't help but feel disappointment.

Mitch stands about Tom's height, maybe an inch or two taller with a similar stocky build that Tom has. He's got a slicked back brown haircut, and some burn scars on the right side of his face.

Tom scoots over to let Mitch sit. As he does, Tom says "Something's been weighing on me ever since I learned about your Covenant affiliation." Mitch smirks and says "Oh, I hear you have more than me that's weighing you down these days."

Tom looks at him blankly and asks "What do you mean?" Mitch leans back and says "Well, I heard what we did to you after you were recovered in Torino. And...I heard about the woman that you're seeing. Funny, I was there when you and Nadia had your little...flirtations. I was angry that this clown that I was now forced to work under was letting a woman get into his head, especially since he was married! But now...now, I know why you acted like that. Elena told me everything. Who knew Rambaldi was a matchmaker?"

Mitch laughs at the end of that, but Tom doesn't find his humor all that amusing. Mitch notices and says "Aww, still angry over what happened in Torino?" Tom leans and gets in Mitch's face. "Angry over what happened in Torino? No. Angry about what happened in Cordoba, Spain, when you first set me up to have me taken into Covenant custody? No. Angry that, for the better part of two years, you were feeding the Covenant information on our operations? No. I'm angry at D...all of the above."

Mitch leans back and raises his eyebrows up and down quickly. "That's a lot to be angry at a man about. Now, stand up. I have to make sure you're not armed." Tom stands up and extends his arms. "And now, I get to see if you're being honest, too. I'm standing here like a doofus...easy to kill."

Mitch laughs as he stands up and starts patting Tom down. As he does, he says "Paranoid much? You don't have to worry about me killing you. My employer would probably kill ME if I killed you. As I said on the phone, there'd be no joy in it for me now." Tom shakes his head. "Back to my original question, what's been weighing on me is this: What lies did the Covenant feed you when you were betraying me? What did they promise you?"

Mitch ignores the question and finishes his patdown. "Alright, you're not armed. You always were a man of your word. I also see you came alone, which I also appreciate." Mitch then takes his seat again, and Tom follows suit.

When he sits down, Tom asks "I asked you a question, Mitch." Mitch acts like he's remembering something. "Ah yes, what did the Covenant promise me? Well, Tom, after the Argentina mission, there was no way I could confidently follow your lead when we both know that I'm the more experienced of us two. So, they promised me your job as leader of Storm Crew. They figured if you were taken out of the equation, I'd be promoted in your stead."

Tom lets out a sarcastic chuckle and says "Well, I guess that didn't work out for you, huh?" Mitch shakes his head. "No. And just so we're clear, it was not my intention to get our friends..."

Tom's eyes bug out. "OUR friends? Friends don't let friends get blown up when they know it's coming!" Mitch hangs his head. "Well, after Cordoba, I became persona non grata in Dark Cover. My deal with the Covenant changed from promotion to protection. The safety of our team was no longer their concern."

Tom leans back casually. "So, what have you been doing for the past two years?" Mitch shrugs. "Not much. A little of this, a little of that...getting skin grafts for my burned face. It got burned in the explosion at Torino."

Tom gets a look of mock sorrow on his face. "Aww, poor you. And meanwhile, your son gets to grow up without a father in his life. I know where he and your wife are...and believe me, witness protection put them in a very cold place. I don't think they're having much fun." Mitch starts laughing. "You're bluffing! Come on, I thought you'd give me more credit..."

Mitch stops in his tracks as Tom reaches into his windbreaker and hands Mitch some pictures of a woman and young boy, wearing winter clothes and walking down the street. As Mitch's confidence washes away while he stares at the pictures, Tom says "Mike gave me those recently. They don't look very happy." Mitch gets a down look on his face. "Look, if I knew I'd lose my family as a result, I wouldn't..."

Tom cuts him off angrily. "But you did. Funny, when someone offers you something that seems too good to be true, it probably is. And that's something that I didn't need you to teach me." Mitch then forcibly hands Tom the pictures back. "Get these out of my sight."

Tom smirks as he takes the pictures and puts them back in his windbreaker. He looks at his watch and sees it's now 9:04. He looks back at Mitch and says "So, _old friend_, let's get down to business. What's this thing that I want?" Mitch reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out an old, somewhat yellowed document that's rolled up. "This Rambaldi document details your role in the prophecy."

Tom's eyebrows raise a bit. "Give it to me." Mitch shakes his head. "No. You have to do something for me first."

Tom shakes his head. "I'm never going to work for you or the Covenant. I'm no rat." Mitch chuckles and says "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. But, Elena needs something taken care of that the Covenant would prefer to go out of the organization for. That's why I'm here."

Tom looks like he's thinking, but he's really stalling. Finally, he hears the alarm on his watch beep. A concerned Mitch asks "What was that?" Tom shakes his head. "Oh, nothing, just the alarm for my pill. My left shoulder still hurts sometimes from the Project Alloy surgery. Normally, I take the pill now."

Mitch shrugs it off. But, unbeknownst to him, Mike has suddenly appeared behind him, holding a blue tarp, chains, and a concrete block. Tom looks past Mitch's ear at Mike and smiles. "Well, looks like we have ourselves a Storm Crew reunion!"

Mitch looks at him confused and turns around and spots Mike there. His eyes bug out as he says "This meet was supposed to be just us!"

However, as Mitch was doing that, Tom grabbed his Mayan pocket knife that was taped to the back of the bench. Tom lunges forward and, with his left hand, holds Mitch's mouth closed...

...and with his right hand, he plunges the knife into the back of Mitch's head, just above the neck.

Mitch spasms quickly and his eyes bug out of his head because of the pain. Tom, meanwhile, has a sinister smirk on his face as he holds the knife and Mitch's mouth shut, to prevent his screams from being heard.

Tom leans forward and starts whispering in a dying Mitch's ear. "I guess I didn't keep up my end of the bargain when it came to weapons. But, you didn't keep up your end of the bargain when you betrayed us. So, consider us even."

Tom then twists the knife, causing Mitch to let out a muffled scream and his eyes to bulge out more. Tom's face turns serious as he whispers "That was for Chris, Eddie, Jerome, Luke, Jacob, and Charlie...that was for our friends that you helped bury in the rubble in Torino..."

Tom twists the knife again, again causing Mitch to let out a muffled scream. Tom's sinister smirk returns as he says "...and that was for me, and the physical and emotional pain I had to endure as a result of your betrayal. Go rot in hell, you backstabbing piece of shit."

Tom pulls the knife out from the back of Mitch's head. Mitch collapses to the right, closes his eyes, and lets out his final, dying breath.

Tom looks at Mitch for a few seconds, going over what he just did. He looks down at his knife, which is now coated with Mitch's blood...right down to the green handle and the Mayan bat symbol. He closes the knife and looks up at Mike, who was standing there as the murder went down.

Mike starts nodding his head slowly, forcing Tom to do the same. They now can take comfort that vengeance for their dead friends has officially been delivered, and there's now no doubt that Mitch is dead.

Tom stands up and grabs the Rambaldi document from Mitch's right hand and tucks it down the back of his pants. As he's doing that, Mike has set the tarp down on the ground and opened it up. Tom grabs Mitch under the shoulders. He tells Mike "Grab the legs."

Mike does as instructed and helps Tom lift Mitch off of the bench and onto the tarp. After setting him down, Tom takes off his now-bloody windbreaker and athletic pants, revealing the painting clothes he had on and the Rambaldi document, which we find is really tucked into the back of his jeans. He tosses the windbreaker and athletic pants on Mitch's dead body, and Mike starts to wrap up Mitch's body.

Tom then grabs a plastic bag Mike had on him and takes out a cloth and some bleach. He starts wiping down the bench, mainly the areas where blood poured from Mitch's neck.

When he's done, he puts everything back in the bag and walks over to help Mike finish chaining up Mitch's tarp. He loops the chain through the bag handles and the holes in the concrete block on Mitch's chest and fastens the chains up with a lock.

Tom then squats down on one side and Mike does on the other. Tom shakes his head. "Alright, this bastard is going to be heavy." Mike nods. "Seems like he's been well-fed of late, too."

Tom then says "Alright, let's do this. 3...2...1..." The two then grunt loudly as they lift each side of Mitch up.

They then start walking down to the end of the pier, and then start walking down the shorter, narrower fishing pier. Huffing and puffing, they finally get to the end of the pier and set Mitch's body on the ledge and push it over.

It splashes into the water and, after some bubbling and gurgling, Mitch sinks into the ocean. Tom and Mike both lean over and watch as the last traces of Mitch fade away.

After a few seconds of silence, Mike says "We should have did this in Cordoba, when we realized what was going on with him." Tom, still a little winded from carrying Mitch's body, says "Well, you talked me out of it, remember?"

Mike nods as he looks somber now. "Yeah. You're not the only one that has to live with mistakes in judgment." Tom then pats Mike on the back. "Well, we finished the job. No regrets. Now come on, let's go to my place and wash up. You'll get to see why my shirt has orangish-red paint on it!"

Mike chuckles a bit as the two walk back down the pier.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: Rambaldi artifacts get stolen at the DSR. While that goes down, Director Chase discovers the Hydrosek was moved from Nadia's computer and the security at the DSR was compromised...also via Nadia's computer. They go to Sydney's and question Nadia about her laptop. Jack and Sloane arrive and they come to the realization that Sophia was really Elena Derevko. We pick up after that.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's apartment<strong>_

Tom pulls up to Sydney's apartment and immediately notices a lot of cars parked in front. Something doesn't seem right here.

After cleaning up at his apartment, he's dressed in a plain white shirt and blue jeans. He steps out of his car, opens the trunk, and takes out his luggage bag.

He quickly walks up to Sydney's door and notices it's unlocked.

Wasting no time, he opens the door and finds Jack, Sloane, Chase, Sydney, and Nadia sitting in the living room, along with other CIA agents. They all look just as surprised to see him as he's surprised to see them.

As he walks down the steps leading to the rest of the apartment, he asks "What's going on?" Chase says "We believe Elena Derevko hacked Nadia's laptop and helped orchestrate numerous infractions on the CIA."

Tom shakes his head quickly. "How? Nadia keeps her laptop on her at all times..." Nadia, with major remorse in her voice, says "It happened when we were having dinner with Sophia. We think Sophia is actually Elena. She used my computer to transfer the Hydrosek. She also had a bug in my necklace and stole Rambaldi artifacts at the DSR tonight."

Tom's eyes bug out of his head in surprise as he sets his luggage on the breakfast bar and shakes his head. "Wow...I mean...I had my suspicions, but I don't know what to..." Sloane cuts him off. "Why were you suspicious?"

Tom walks to the living room and says "Just the things she said. She seemed like she knew more about us than she let on. Something seemed eerily cool about her." Tom then looks back over at Nadia. "That means you were really raised by Elena. I'm so sorry."

Nadia just looks down and says nothing. Jack asks "What are you doing here?" Tom replies "Me and Nadia are painting our apartment and we're staying here while we let it air out. Meanwhile, I had something to take care of while Nadia finished up."

Nadia looks at him surprised. Sydney gives him a confused look and asks "Nadia told me you were back at the apartment finishing up." Tom turns and walks up to his luggage on the breakfast bar. "Well, I guess since everyone is here, I guess I can reveal what I was really up to tonight."

He opens the luggage and pulls out the Rambaldi document he acquired from Mitch and holds it out for everyone to see.

We see that this document has a picture that looks VERY much like Tom (a la Sydney and Page 47), along with Rambaldi text that we can't read. Under his picture, we see _"The Caretaker"_ written in English. We also see that the document is shorter than most Rambaldi documents, like it's missing the bottom half.

Everyone looks surprised to see this document. Tom says "I had a meeting with an old friend of mine tonight. He was working on behalf of Elena Derevko. He had this in his possession. This is the answer to the riddle of what my role is." Chase quickly asks "Why didn't you inform anyone of this meet?"

Tom looks over at Nadia, then back at Chase. "Because, the man I was meeting was Mitch Hayes, the rat in Storm Crew that was feeding the Covenant information on me. This was personal." Sydney says "I thought Mitch was dead."

Tom quickly responds "Turns out the body the Italians found in Torino was a Project Helix double. Anyway, don't worry. We won't be seeing him again." Sloane quickly picks up on Tom's play on words. "You killed this man."

Sydney and Nadia look at him in shock. Chase quickly stands up and angrily asks "You committed murder tonight?" Tom shakes his head. "You can't kill what what is already dead, Director. Mitch Hayes officially died on June 6th, 2003 in Torino, Italy."

Chase just looks at him blankly. "Where is his body?" Tom replies "Mitch is wrapped in blue tarp in the bottom of the ocean next to the fishing pier at the Santa Monica Pier."

Chase sighs and somewhat sarcastically says "We'll have to extract the body to ensure he's still dead after all these years. Were there any other witnesses?" Tom shakes his head, despite knowing Mike was there with him. "No. I acted alone. I kept it quiet and discreet."

Sloane, still looking at the document, asks "Where is the other half of this document?" Tom shrugs. "Beats me. This was all he had on him. He wanted me to do a task for the Covenant for that...10 seconds later, I drove a knife into the back of his head."

Sydney's eyebrows raise a bit at the nature of Tom's kill. Meanwhile, Chase grabs the document from Tom and examines it. "Looks like the bottom half was either torn or cut off." Tom looks at Sloane and asks "Why would the other half be missing?"

Sloane smartly replies "Why are you asking me?" Tom shrugs. "Well, you're supposed to be an expert on these things." Sloane is not amused and says "The fact that you even have a role is still new to me. So, despite appearances, I don't know everything."

Chase cuts their banter off. "I'll have the DSR translate the text and we'll get back to you." Tom looks confused. "All of the Rambaldi documents were stolen..."

Chase cuts him off. "We still can decode it there. We'll let you know as soon as it's done." Chase then walks over and stands in front of Tom's face and quietly says "We'll also discuss your actions tonight in the near future."

Chase then walks off angrily. Tom watches her walks away, then walks over and sits next to Nadia and puts his arm around her. "I can't even begin to think how you're feeling now. I can't believe that Elena was Sophia all along." Nadia looks at him funny. "You suspected that she wasn't being straight with us..."

Tom shakes his head. "But I didn't think it was possible that she'd be Elena herself. Most people that try to be something they're not start showing cracks over time. Same thing happened to Mitch. But, Elena has done this doppelganger act for decades without anyone being the wiser. I'm so sorry this had to happen..." Nadia cuts him off. "Don't be. I'm not angry. I'm actually relieved I know the truth. But, why aren't you angry? The information she collected on you drove you crazy for the past week!"

Tom looks away and shakes his head. "Because, I now know what my enemy looks like, and I feel that same relief you do. And if I get the chance, I'll be more than happy to do to her what I did to Mitch tonight." Sydney then folds her arms. "When you told us about what you did to Mitch, you were very cool about it. In fact, you almost seemed...happy."

Tom looks at Sydney and says "I lost any remorse for killing people in 1996, when a good friend of mine named Matt Aguero was savagely tortured by a small, yet bloodthirsty gang in southern Mexico. Anyway, I won't go down that road here. Mitch's actions led to my team being killed and my life being dramatically changed. When he called me the night the Hydrosek was stolen, I knew what I had to do. Plus, I feel relieved that I'm finally going to know what my role is."

Suddenly, Nadia stands up and looks at Tom with a look like she just doesn't want to deal with any of this anymore. In a plain, defeated voice, she says "I'm going to bed. The painting at the apartment is done, we'll go back there tomorrow. Good night everyone." Tom stands up and tells Sydney "Good night." Sydney says "Good night" as Tom walks to the kitchen and grabs his luggage and follows Nadia to bed.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: Sloane goes to meet Lazlo Drake...and gets a surprise visitor in Sydney, who also objected to Sloane going alone along with Tom and Dixon in the conference room. However, as Sloane and Sydney watch Drake's security video, Sloane knocks Sydney out as Elena tells Drake where her facility is in the video. Jack, seeing as they're out of options, meets with Katya Derevko, who reveals that Elena is the real ringleader behind the Covenant. She also tells Jack that Elena is in Prague. Meanwhile, in Prague, Sloane pledges his allegiance to Elena. Sydney, Nadia, and Dixon go to Prague and infiltrate Elena's facility. Tom is not included in this mission. Dixon ends up discovering Sloane, only to get shot in the back by Elena. Later, when he's laid out in the hospital, Dixon reveals to Sydney and Nadia that he believes he saw Irina Derevko in Prague, shackled as a prisoner. This sets up the events that will take place in the next episode...and chapter.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>END OF CHAPTER<strong>


	20. Ch 19: Who The Hell Is Laurent L'Andre?

**WHO THE HELL IS LAURENT L'ANDRE?**

_Timeline of Chapter: Season 4, Episode 21_

* * *

><p><em><strong>?<strong>_

Tom stands in the middle of a city. Complete, utter desolation surrounds him. Buildings with windows smashed out, cars crashed and piled on each other, fires everywhere, and bodies...lots and lots of dead bodies. Everything has an orange hue to it, but Tom's not sure if it's from the fires or the big orange ball in the sky.

Tom looks up to the right and sees two women standing on the roof, staring at each other. He realizes who they are and he runs into the building.

Tom starts running up a flight of stairs. Even though the building is just 5 stories or so, it seems like the stairs never stop. He's running...and running...and running...and running...but he's getting no closer to the top.

Finally, he squeezes some extra energy and sprints harder and finally reaches the rooftop door. He runs through it and runs out to the rooftop.

He immediately sees Sydney drive a knife into Nadia's chest. Nadia collapses in a heap and her body goes lifeless as it hits the ground.

Tom tries to scream in agony, but he can't hear himself. In fact, no one can hear his screaming.

After pulling the knife out of Nadia's chest, Sydney looks over at Tom and starts walking up to him slowly. Tom staggers backward in fear, afraid that Sydney is going to kill him as well. Eventually, he backs into the door and freezes. He's got nowhere to go now.

A calm, sedate Sydney stands in front of him and hands Tom the knife she used to kill Nadia. A closer look reveals it's actually Tom's Mayan pocket knife. In an almost robotic voice, she tells a fearful Tom "It's all your fault."

Tom wants to cry, but no tears come out. He looks down at his hands and sees blood drenched all over them. As he's looking at his hands and the blood dripping off of them, Sydney says "That's Nadia's blood on your hands. You could have saved her, but you didn't. You weren't there for her."

Tom closes his eyes and finally tears start to pour out of his eyes like a running faucet. As he's fighting his emotions, he says "It's all my fault...it's all my fault..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment<strong>_

Nadia is kneeling over Tom, trying to restrain him while he goes through his nightmare. Seeing as she's not having much luck, she finally yells "Tom!"

Tom suddenly wakes up and sits up quickly. Sweat is pouring out of his body and his breathing is fast and labored. Nadia, next to him in bed, is sitting up as well, having had to move out of the way quickly from Tom snapping up.

Tom turns on the light next to him to get a look at Nadia's face. Still breathing heavy, he cracks a surprised smile and says "You're alive..." Nadia looks at him confused and says "Tom, you were having a nightmare. You kept screaming and saying 'it's all my fault'..."

Tom, with a look of total fear on his face, turns away and says "It seemed so real...I thought I had lost you..." Nadia leans over and rubs Tom's back trying to comfort him. "It's ok, it's over now. I'm here."

Tom looks over at Nadia and says "I was standing in this city...everything around me was either destroyed or dead...and then I looked up and saw you and Sydney on the rooftop of this building. I ran to save you, but I wasn't fast enough...Sydney stabbed you in the heart with my pocket knife, but your blood was on my hands..." Nadia shakes her head quickly. "Tom, it wasn't real..."

Tom quickly snaps back "It SEEMED so real! Everything was lit up in this orange light, fires everywhere...it was so vivid!" Nadia looks away for a bit as she remembers something. "I had a vision like that in Siena with my father a year ago." Tom, with tears still in his eyes, asks "What? What happened?"

Nadia looks down as she recollects the vision. "It was all very quick. When I touched the Sphere of Life, I saw these quick flashes of death...fire...destruction...it troubled me too." Tom wipes some tears away on his face and says "I hope these are just dreams. I don't know how I'd function without you."

Nadia then gives Tom a hug in an another attempt to comfort him. As they're hugging, she says "I know how you feel. I hate imagining life without you. But with everything we've been through, we'll get by this. We have to." Tom then says "But that means Sydney would have to die, and..."

Nadia releases the hug and says "Don't even think about that! I'd never fight my sister!" Tom shakes his head. "Not willingly. But, we now know that there's a way to get you to fight, thanks to what your father put in the water that over 400 million people drank."

Nadia looks down. "I still can't believe my father betrayed me. I wanted to believe that he had chose me over Rambaldi, but now I feel like a fool. You and Sydney knew all along..." Tom cuts her off by lifting up her chin slowly. As she looks at him troubled, Tom says "Nadia, I wanted SO BAD to think that he changed and made you his priority in life. I had my doubts, but I didn't see him turning like this. Not now...not after Elena drove a dagger in your back."

Nadia shakes her head and sighs. She says "You once told me that you felt that your life was one giant lie after reading Elena's files. Now, I understand how you felt." Tom cracks an understanding smirk and says "But you know what's funny? The fact that, despite being brought up by an evil woman, despite having an evil father, you're a wonderful human being. Why do you think that is?"

Nadia shakes her head again and says "I'm not wonderful. I've killed people, I've deceived people, I've robbed people, and on top of that, I'm such a fool for believing in my father." Tom shakes his head and gently puts his hands on her shoulders. "You had valid reasons for doing all those things. As far as your dad goes, think about why you love me. I've done some heinous things in my life. I've killed and tortured many, many people, and I just murdered someone a couple days ago and dumped him in the ocean...without any remorse. But despite all that, you still love me for the man I am. You have such a big heart, and I love that so much about you. I came to APO to be there for you and protect you, but you've gone above and beyond anything I've done for you so far. I owe you my life a thousand times over for all that you've done for me. And that's why that nightmare scared me so much...I just love you too damn much."

Nadia cracks a touched smile and puts her hands on Tom's shoulders in return. "And I love you so much, too. I can always count on you. That's what I love about you the most." Tom sniffles a bit as the tears start to reform in his eyes. "I will always be there for you. I made you that promise in the hospital when I returned to life, and I will always stand by it. My biggest fear in life is losing you...and I won't ever let that happen. Not on my watch."

Nadia gives Tom a kiss on the cheek and wipes some of Tom's tears away. With a smile, she says "I know you will. Now, let's get some sleep. No more nightmares, ok!" Tom chuckles a bit as gives Nadia a peck on the lips. "Deal. I love you, beautiful." Nadia quickly fires back "I love you, handsome!"

The two then fall back into bed with reassured smiles on their faces...both of them feeling much better about things than they were 10 minutes ago. Tom turns off his bedside light and goes to sleep.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office<strong>_

Tom and Nadia are seated at their desks when Director Chase walks up to them. She tells them "We've decoded the Rambaldi manuscript you provided us, Tom. There's a meeting in the conference room." Tom and Nadia stand up, but Chase cuts them off. "You go on in, Nadia, I need a word with Tom alone."

Nadia nods and walks off. Tom stands at his desk and looks at Chase curiously as she stands across the desk from him. He asks "What is this about?" Chase, rather tersely, says "You went rogue on us when you murdered Mitch Hayes."

Tom angrily says "I was on APO business!" Chase quickly says "Lower your voice when you're around me, got it?"

Tom holds up his hands. "Fine. But, I was able to acquire the Rambaldi document that details my role in the prophecy through this meet." Chase replies "Yes, but you didn't inform anyone about it, and you committed an unauthorized murder."

Tom chuckles. "How can it be murder when the guy is already dead?" Chase thinks for a second, then says "Yes, the CIA's official position is that Mitch Hayes still died on June 6th, 2003. We found his body in of the ocean, where you said it was, and disposed of it. This incident will be swept under the rug, but you listen to me..."

Chase then leans forward and gets in Tom's face. "This incident gave me another reason to go over your record in the Anti-Cartel. I went over the fallout over the death of your friend, Matt Aguero, and did some extra research of my own. And your conduct in that time period was beyond reprehensible and quite frankly, had I known about what you did after he died, you wouldn't be in the CIA now. So I'm going to tell you right here and now...one more display like what you did a few days ago with Mitch...and I'll make sure you're prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for whatever it is you did. I can't try you for your Anti-Cartel crimes, and technically I can't charge you with a crime for Hayes' death, but I will hold all of that against you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Tom, with an angry scowl on his face, says "Completely. And if everything works out the way I want, I'm taking early retirement and getting out of the CIA. So, you won't have to worry about me for much longer." Chase stands back up straight. "Fine. Follow me, we have a meeting.

* * *

><p>Everyone is assembled in the conference room.<p>

Tom is leaning on his folded hands, nervous over what's to come. Jack starts off the meeting. "We have decoded the Rambaldi manuscript that Tom provided to us a few days ago. Before I begin, we did confirm that someone cut off the bottom half, and judging by the cut marks, it was done recently." Tom shakes his head. "Why?"

Jack shrugs. "We have no idea why, or what the bottom part of the document contains. But, we were able to find out a lot based on what we information we found in the document." Tom leans back and takes a deep breath. "Ok, let's do it."

Jack picks up a separate sheet of paper. "The text goes as follows: 'The Caretaker's main focus is the love and happiness of The Passenger. When injected with The Connection, the two will know the instant they meet each other that they are meant to be together. The Caretaker will become driven to serve as the protector of The Passenger and ensure her continued love and happiness, and The Passenger will feel the same about him. Should The Passenger perish, The Caretaker will destroy everything in his path before destroying her killer, but will end up willingly destroying himself in the process. Should The Passenger defeat The Chosen One, The Caretaker will continue to fight for the survival of The Passenger, no matter what they face in the aftermath of The Chosen One's death. The Caretaker will help usher in a new era of durable human with his metallic skeleton. Finally, The Caretaker will be the protector of my ultimate prophecy, and only he can access it through the methods at the bottom of this page.'"

At that point, Jack stops. Tom waits for him to continue, then looks up and says "That's it? No instructions?" Jack shakes his head. "No. That rest was cut off."

Tom chuckles as he shakes his head. "This guy has me nailed...but what is this ultimate prophecy that he's talking about?" Jack replies "We don't know. Nothing was mentioned about it in any other Rambaldi document."

Tom then shakes his head. "Are we sure this document is valid? I mean, that sketch of my face looks like I posed for it, how could he know I look like that?" Sydney then says "How could Rambaldi know that I look the way I do?"

Tom then buries his head in his hands, accepting that it's real. "He brought up the possibility of Nadia dying. That can't happen...it won't..." Nadia then says "But, he also says I could live..." Tom looks at her troubled "Yeah, and that doesn't sound rosy either, based on what Rambaldi alluded to about the 'aftermath'."

Jack says "It's no one's intention that Sydney and Nadia clash to the death." Tom shakes his head. "In the time I've been here, I've learned that even the best of intentions are worthless when someone else is controlling the puppet strings. Has Rambaldi been wrong yet?"

Tom then looks back down with an extremely troubled look on his face and doesn't get an answer to that question. After some silence, Jack finally speaks up. "Anyway, that's all. We should get back to work. We need to find Elena."

The team gets up and leaves the conference room. Tom remains seated, staring off into space, digesting what he has just heard. After about a minute, he gets up and gets back to work.

* * *

><p><em>Episode Note: Not long after this, Nadia learns the truth about Jack murdering her mother (or so they all thought before Dixon found her) and the team is subjected to the first videos from Sovogda, Russia. The city is in chaos, with people rioting and fighting on the streets under a giant Mueller Device ball. They determine that Irina Derevko is the only person who can disarm the device properly. Sydney and Vaughn talk to a former Covenant associate who informs the team of her whereabouts after some creative coercion. While that happens, this conversation between Tom and Nadia takes place.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Conference Room<strong>_

Tom and Nadia walk in to the conference room. Nadia stops and turns to Tom and asks "What is it?" Tom looks down and says "Nadia...in my dream, I saw Sovogda. This is where you and Sydney will fight!"

Nadia shakes her head. "You don't know that..." Tom looks up and intently says "Yes, I do..." Nadia cuts him off loudly. "No, you don't! It was a dream!"

Tom sighs and looks back down. "I just have a feeling that your fight with Sydney is going to happen soon and after hearing my prophecy, I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. Either you die and I go on the warpath or you live and...well, I'm not really sure. Sounds like we'd be together, but what kind of reality will we face?" Nadia looks down and says "I wish I knew. I wish I knew a lot of things. I wish I knew that Jack didn't kill my mother."

Tom looks back at Nadia and says "Nadia, I learned that Mitch was alive thanks to Project Helix. I think it's highly possible your mother is alive. I'm just not sure if we can trust her." Nadia folds her arms. "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't my mother want to stop her sister after what happened to her?"

Tom quickly replies "Who's to say they're not in cahoots with each other, and that Irina being a prisoner is really just a smoke screen?" Nadia shakes her head and looks at Tom a little irritated. "Tom, think about what you're saying..."

Tom laughs and says "I am! We both know what Irina has done in her life, and if there's one person in this world that's cagier than your father, it's your mother. I don't want to see you get burned again by someone you want the love and affection of." Nadia sighs and says "I appreciate that you're looking out for me, but I need to know for myself. I hope that you'll support me..."

She's cut off by Jack walking into the conference room. "Sydney and Vaughn have learned that Irina was transferred from Prague. She's being held at a remote location in Guatemala." Tom's eyes perk up when he hears 'Guatemala' and quickly asks "Whereabouts in Guatemala?"

Jack says "A compound in the Tikal area." Tom nods his head quickly. "I spent a lot of time in that area in the Anti-Cartel. I know the roads and I know the gangs there. I can help." Nadia looks at Tom a little concerned at his sudden motivation to help.

Jack replies "That's fine, let's go." Jack turns and Tom and Nadia start to follow him. As they're walking, Nadia asks "What are you doing?" Tom turns to her and plainly says "Supporting you."

Nadia turns away from Tom with a worried look as they continue to walk behind Jack.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: Jack, Sydney, Nadia, and Tom arrive at the river entry point in Guatemala. Tom helps Sydney and Nadia set up their raft before they leave. Then, he leaves with Jack to head to the extraction point. We pick up during the big escape after Sydney and Nadia recover Irina.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Guatemala<strong>_

Sydney catches herself in a trap and is strung up by her feet upside down. Nadia gives Irina her knife while she goes and provides cover.

Nadia pulls out her handgun and kills one of her pursuers. She goes to grab the dead man's machine gun, but another man ambushes her and starts a fight with her. Nadia holds her own for a while, but this man is much bigger than her and, after knocking Nadia's makeshift staff out of her hand, starts strangling her.

All of the sudden, we see a hand pull the man's forehead back and a knife quickly slices his throat. As the man convalesces and bleeds out, we hear a man whisper in his ear in a sinister voice "Usted pandilleros guatemaltecos saben que no deben poner una mano sobre la novia Halcón Diablo!" (You Guatamalan gangbangers know better than to lay a hand on Halcón Diablo's girlfriend!)

The man is then allowed to fall, and after he collapses, we see Tom Falk standing there as he wipes the blood on his knife on his pants.

Tom then looks at Nadia and asks "Are you ok?" Before Nadia can respond, they hear and see two more men come from behind.

Tom quickly turns and blocks a punch and rams his knife into the man's neck. Meanwhile, the other man goes after Nadia, but isn't successful as Nadia takes care of him with another staff.

When that's done, Nadia and Tom grab the assault rifles of the defeated men. Then, she looks at Tom frantically and says "We have to go! Follow me!" Tom nods and takes off behind Nadia in a dead sprint.

Tom and Nadia catch back up with Irina and Sydney just as Sydney is cut down. Sydney notices Tom and asks "What are you..." A still-sprinting Nadia quickly cuts her off and says "They're right behind us!"

The four then take off for their raft, with at least two men with assault rifles chasing them. Nadia and Irina take the lead while Sydney and Tom stay a few steps behind to ward off the men.

They get to a clearing and each of them stands to the side of the path and mow down their pursuers when they appear.

As Tom and Sydney jump into the raft with Nadia and Irina, a humvee pulls up. Tom shoots down one of the men while Sydney quickly grabs a grenade and throws it, blowing up humvee and remaining men following them. Now that the coast is clear, they pull away in the raft.

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: On the plane, Irina reveals details from a Rambaldi manuscript she found: Il Diluvio, aka "The Flood", that foretells the cleansing of the world via apocalypse. She also details her time in captivity. Tom then watches on as Irina realizes that black-haired woman who helped save her is Nadia, her daughter. Tom can't help but feel touched at the sight of them embracing...and also relieved. Later, Tom gets up from his seat next to Nadia to let a freshly-clothed Irina sit and discuss the plan in Sovogda.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere over US airspace<strong>_

Irina, Nadia, and Sydney remain seated while Jack answers a phone call. Tom is standing at the end of the table, absorbing everything Irina has to say.

Suddenly, Irina looks up at Tom as she's talking and stops in her tracks. She starts giving him a funny look, which causes him to look at her suspiciously. After a couple seconds, he blurts out "What?"

Irina plainly replies "I know you." Tom chuckles and looks at Nadia and Sydney, then back at Irina. "There's only one Derevko sister that knew who I was before I met them..."

Irina cuts him off and says "You're the Caretaker." Tom's face freezes in surprise. Sydney and Nadia look equally surprised as Tom asks "How did you know about that?"

Irina smiles and says "Well, two things gave you away. You bear a striking resemblance to the picture on the manuscript and...I've seen how you look at Nadia." Tom looks at Nadia and they both crack a small smile. As he's looking at Nadia, he tells Irina "She's my everything."

Irina quickly replies "I kind of figured that. So, the descendant of Laurent L'Andre finally appears." Sydney and Nadia give Irina a confused look. So does Tom, who quickly asks "Who the hell is Laurent L'Andre?"

Irina folds her arms and leans back. "You did read the manuscript on you, right?" Tom replies "The bottom portion was cut off, after Rambaldi mentioned 'the ultimate prophecy'."

Irina looks down and opens her mouth wide in shock. "No she didn't..." Tom take's Jack's seat so he can look at Irina eye to eye. "You've seen the whole document?"

Irina looks back at Tom and nods. "Yes, I have." Tom stirs a bit. "Well, what does the rest of it say?"

Irina replies "I only got a glance of it while I was Elena's prisoner. It had a picture of a couple other Rambaldi artifacts on it...they looked like vials of liquid. Also, the last line of it on the bottom of the page said that you were the descendent of Laurent L'Andre. Laurent was mentioned as a Rambaldi apprentice in other documents." Tom looks down and thinks for a moment before saying "My mother's maiden name was Landry, and my middle name is Loren, after my great-grandfather on my mother's side..."

Irina smiles and says "Sounds like Loren Landry might be the Americanized version of Laurent L'Andre." Tom looks back at Irina and asks "What else do you know about Laurent, or the document?"

Irina shakes her head. "I'm afraid I don't know anything more besides what I told you." Tom quickly asks "When did you last see this document?"

Irina replies "Must have been a couple months ago, Elena had it on her desk, that's where I saw it." Tom shakes his head and says "And it was complete then...why would Elena cut off the bottom half?"

Irina then cracks a wide smirk. "My guess...Elena saw you and this 'ultimate prophecy' as a threat, and she probably didn't possess the elements required to find out what it is. But, when I saw the manuscript and Rambaldi's role for you, I realized why she favored Nadia to win the fight with Sydney. Elena probably believes you're an insurance policy for Nadia's survival, and probably hopes that's all you become." Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "Irina, there is no way Nadia and Sydney are going to fight...and there's no way I'd ever lay a hand on Sydney..."

Irina cuts Tom off by asking "If Nadia's life were in danger, would you?" Tom pauses, and before he can answer, Jack cuts them off. "That was our pilot. Our plane is being diverted...official orders from Langley."

* * *

><p><em>Episode note: Irina is taken into custody on the plane. Back at APO, after a spirited debate, Sydney convinces Chase to let Irina help in Sovogda. Irina signs an agreement that she will be returned to CIA custody to serve out her sentence after helping in Sovogda.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office<strong>_

Tom sits at his desk, looking like he's in deep thought. Nadia suddenly gets up from her desk to go take care of something. Seeing as she's gone, Tom opens up a drawer and pulls out a small, black box.

Tom then looks into the room that Jack and Irina are in and he sees Jack get up from his seat. Tom takes his cue and starts walking towards the room.

He gets to the door just as Jack is walking out. Jack asks "What is it?" Tom looks past him at Irina and says "I'd like to have a word with Miss Derevko. In private."

A confused Jack quickly asks "Why?", but before Tom can answer, Irina says "It's ok, Jack. Let him in." Jack walks away a still little confused over Tom's request.

Tom walks past Irina and sits down in Jack's seat. He's got a look on his face that he's terribly troubled over something. Irina notices and asks "Look, if this is about what's on your manuscript..." Tom shakes his head and cuts her off. "It's not that."

Irina then relaxes and asks "Then, why do you want to talk to me?" Tom takes a deep breath and says "Irina, I'm a traditionalist. I grew up in a simple home in a simple town under simple rules. I'm also deeply in love with your daughter Nadia, and..."

Tom then looks away, afraid to continue. After a few seconds, he sighs and says "...I know the protocol is to ask the father's permission to marry his daughter. However, her father is currently unavailable and I can't wait any longer for him. After he turned on us, I wondered how I was going to pull this off. But then...something happened on the plane ride here."

Irina, who's been listening intently, asks "What happened?" Tom turns back to her and replies "I saw you and Nadia embrace. I had my doubts about you going into your rescue, but your daughter believed in you, and I had to respect that. And when I saw the look on your face, the tears in your eyes, when you hugged Nadia...I knew you were for real. You do love your daughter, and you can't fake that reaction you had."

Irina leans forward and says "I know it might not seem like it on the surface, but I did have Nadia's best intentions in heart when I hid her. She is my daughter and I do love her, and I'm glad she has someone that loves her like you do." Tom smiles and says "Well, I'm glad to hear that. And knowing that, I now feel confident that I can ask you the question that I'm about to ask: Can I marry your daughter?"

Irina turns away in surprise and smiles. Then, she looks back at Tom. "Do you have the ring?" Tom nods as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the black box and hands it to Irina. Irina flips open the box and sees an engagement ring with four small diamonds on each side of a larger diamond on top of the golden ring.

Irina smiles wider as she sees the ring. "This is a beautiful ring..." Tom smiles and says "Yeah, that was Mom's. I just got it back from having it polished. I'm happy with how it turned out, too."

Irina turns back to Tom and hands him back the box. Tom grabs the box, but Irina doesn't let go.

Tom looks up concerned at Irina, who smirks and says "You have my blessing." Tom exhales and smiles as Irina lets go of the box. Tom closes it up and puts it in his pocket and stands up. "Thank you so much for that. You don't know what a relief this is."

Tom extends his hand for a handshake, but Irina stands up and instead gives Tom a hug. As they hug, Tom smirks and says "I don't care what they say, you're alright in my book." Irina cracks a smile at that as they release the hug. Then, she tells him "You better go get ready for Sovogda."

Tom raises his eyebrows. "They gave you clearance?" Irina nods and says "I'll see you on the plane."

Tom smiles as he walks out of the room.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Near Sovogda<strong>_

The team is in the plane, getting suited up for their parachute drop in to Sovogda. Over on the back side of the plane, Tom stands while Nadia zips up the back of his suit. Nadia turns around and Tom returns the favor on her suit.

Nadia turns around and lets out a deep sigh. "So, I guess this is it." Tom smiles and says "Just stay by my side, you'll be ok."

Tom then turns around and looks at Vaughn, who gives him a headnod as he stands by Sydney. Tom gives him an acknowledging headnod back. As Tom turns back to Nadia, she asks "What was that about?"

Tom reaches over and grabs Nadia's left hand. "Nadia, I have something that I want to say to you." Nadia looks down and notices his right arm is trembling. Concerned, she looks back up and asks "What is it?"

Tom takes a deep breath and says "I wanted to do this in San Felipe. Before we took off, I set us up with a villa on the beach to stay at for two weeks beginning next week. Jack has approved our time off, he just needs your confirmation." Nadia smiles a bit at the prospect of the vacation. "I can't wait."

Tom gives Nadia a sheepish smile. "Good. Now, as I said, I was going to do this there, but knowing what we're about to go into, I can't wait any longer." Nadia, now concerned, asks "Tom, it's ok, what is it?"

Tom looks down and gets on one knee while still holding her left hand. Nadia's eyes open wide in shock and she puts her right hand over her mouth as she gasps, realizing what's about to come.

Tom looks back up to Nadia and starts talking. "Nadia, I have a confession to make. I've loved you since we met in Argentina in 2001. After we went our separate ways, there was not a single day in my life where I didn't have you on my mind, wondering if you were ok. And since we reunited, I've had the BEST months of my life with you by my side. Every time I look at your face and see your beautiful smile, I'm filled with this euphoria...like I realize there's only one thing I have to live for in life, and that is to see you smile. Our bond is stronger than the titanium bones in my body, and our struggles have only driven us closer and closer. And now, as we're literally going to walk through the mouth of hell, I want to confirm my commitment to be there to protect you, to love, honor, and cherish you, until death do us part."

Tom reaches into his left pocket and pulls out his mom's engagement ring and holds it up to a now-teary eyed Nadia. With a sincere look on his face, he asks "Nadia, will you marry me?" A teary-eyed Nadia starts nodding her head quickly and, with a wide smile, she exclaims "YES! YES, I WILL MARRY YOU!"

Tom lets out a relieved smile as he slides the engagement ring on Nadia's left ring finger. Then, he breathes a sigh of relief. "Whew! Perfect fit!" Tom then stands up and is grabbed immediately by Nadia. In her trademark move, she puts her hand on the back of his head and pulls him in for a kiss.

They release the kiss after a few seconds and looks into each others' eyes. Tom gives Nadia a calm smile and says "I love you, beautiful." Nadia takes a deep breath to try to compose herself and says "I love you, handsome!"

Tom and Nadia then embrace in a hug. As they're hugging, Tom looks right and sees Vaughn and Sydney in a similar embrace. Tom gives Vaughn a thumbs up. Vaughn smiles back at Tom and gives him a thumbs up back, confirming that Sydney too agreed to get married. (_Note: Yes, this is a storyline change from the actual episode. Sydney waited until later to accept the proposal.)_

In between the two happy couples, we catch a very flattered Irina, who wipes some tears from her eyes and says "I'm so happy I could be here...to see both of my daughters got engaged!"

Tom and Nadia then release their hug. Tom notices the tears on Nadia's face and starts wiping them away. Nadia exhales quickly and says "Thanks..." Nadia starts giggling as she examines her ring. "I can't believe this is happening!" Tom laughs himself and says "I'm happy my mom has the same sized finger as you..."

Tom looks up at the ceiling. "Did you know this, Mom?" Nadia laughs at that, and after he doesn't get a response, he looks back down at Nadia and they stare at each other with wide smiles on their faces.

The moment is broken up by the rear door of the plane opening. The team quickly sees the big orange ball over Sovogda. Any happiness that was just shared because of the engagements are now washed away.

The team puts on their helmets, pulls down their visors, and then proceed jump out of the plane...all of them not sure what they're going to face when they land.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	21. Ch 20: Worse Than Death

**WORSE THAN DEATH**

_Timeperiod of chapter: Season finale of Season 4_

_Note: Despite some parts being truncated, this is a LONG chapter, so plan your time accordingly!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sovogda<strong>_

The team lands in Sovogda in different locations. Tom ends up in the middle of a street.

He looks around and assesses his surroundings as he takes off his parachute: buildings with windows smashed out, cars crashed and piled on each other, fires everywhere, lots of dead bodies, and everything awash in an orange hue.

Tom shakes his head in dismay. His nightmare has come to life.

He then jumps a bit as he hears Nadia's voice behind him. "Are you alright?" Tom looks back and sees Nadia walking up to him. Tom gulps and says "This was all in my dream."

"What dream?"

That voice comes from Sydney, who has also landed and approaches Tom from his left. Jack, Irina, and Vaughn all converge at Tom's spot as well. Tom looks around at the rest of the team and shakes his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Nadia then decides to tell the team "Tom had a nightmare the other night about all of this." As Tom looks at her a little irritated, Irina asks Tom "What happened in your nightmare?"

Tom now looks very irritated and says to the team "Look, I don't want to talk about it! It as a bad dream, that's all! We should be getting going." Jack nods and says "The DSR team should be here."

* * *

><p><em>Note: Eventually, after roaming the streets for a while, the team catches up with the lone DSR survivor, Sydney's former partner Brodein. Brodein supplies them all with real weapons instead of tranquilizers. As he's handing out weapons, Brodein explains what the infected are capable of: pure, unadulterated rage. The team is informed that the Mueller device is on top of the largest building in Sovogda: the Oransky Building. Sydney says the subways can get them there, despite the lack of power in the city.<em>

* * *

><p>Brodein gets the lock off of the door to the alleyway that leads to the subway. However, he receives a steel rod through the chest for his efforts. An infected man emerges from the alleyway and starts charging at Sydney and Nadia. Unfortunately for Nadia, Brodein ran out of guns and she didn't get one. Nadia takes cover behind Sydney as she starts shooting at the man.<p>

As Tom stands off to the left of all this, he notices something amiss about what Sydney is doing: For all of her shooting, this man is not dying.

In a very calm manner, Tom walks up to the left side of the infected man and casually puts one bullet into his brain with his machine gun. The man collapses in a lifeless heap.

Tom looks at Sydney and sarcastically shakes his head. "Haven't you seen any zombie movies? Aim for the head, conserve your ammo!" Tom then squats down to examine the body. As he does, Sydney just looks at him with a look of astonishment. "Are you always this chilled out when you kill people?"

Tom smirks and chuckles. "Like, I told you before, I've killed too many people to have any remorse left. To survive in the Anti-Cartel, you had to be just as aggressive and ruthless as the cartels and gangs you encountered. I was an Anti-Cartel agent for 10 years, Sydney. When it comes to killing the living, I have no problem finishing the job when it warrants it. But, like your dead friend with the steel rod through his heart said earlier, these...things aren't alive. Their sense of life is worse than death. Believe me, we're doing these people a favor."

Sydney retorts "But, these people have families..." Tom stands up and rapidly shakes his head. "No. These people HAD families. These people HAD friends. These people HAD feelings. These people had all of that until Elena and Sloane came rolling into town. So don't tell me that what we're doing is inhumane. Believe me, Elena and Sloane already have claimed the title of inhumane with what they've done here. Now come on, we have a world to save."

Tom casually strolls in to the alleyway, leaving everyone else to follow in his lead.

* * *

><p><em>Note: At this point, as they're cutting the brake lines, Irina urges Vaughn to reveal his deep secret to Sydney. We don't know what it is...yet. Meanwhile, we rejoin Tom, Sydney, and Nadia at the switches.<em>

* * *

><p>Sydney and Nadia start flipping the track switches while Tom stands behind them, looking the other way on lookout. Nadia notices the lights on the subway map aren't turning green anymore and says "It's not catching." Sydney replies "They're at either end of the platform. Maybe when the train is at the station, we have to do it ourselves."<p>

Nadia says "Ok", then lowers her head and sighs deeply. Sydney notices and says "You're still feeling it, too?" Nadia replies "Like something awful is going to happen."

Sydney quickly replies "I know. But I'm sure there's brides that want to kill their maid of honor. I'm not one of them." Tom now turns to them, having been listening to the conversation. "And Sydney, I'm sure there's grooms that want to kill their fiancée's maid of honor. And I'm not one of them either."

Sydney and Nadia both share a smile over that. Tom smiles as well as he looks at Sydney "Listen, after this is over, you and Vaughn are going to go on vacation. And eventually, you will get married. And just like you and Vaughn, me and Nadia are going on vacation after this is over, and eventually, we'll get married, too. You want to talk about prophecies? Well, here's MY prophecy: When this is over, we're all going to live happily ever after. The end."

Nadia laughs a bit and says "I like that prophecy!" Sydney, now reassured herself, says "Me too." Sydney then looks at Nadia seriously. "I'll take the switch in front. Tom, can you go with Nadia?" Tom smirks. "Like you had to ask..." Nadia smiles at Tom after he says that, then heads for the back switch.

At the back switch, Nadia tries desperately to get the switch up as Tom is on lookout. Tom turns when he hears the lights go on in the subway car, where the rest of the team has already assembled.

Just as he does that, he hears the sound of growling back down the tunnel. Tom quickly runs over to Nadia. "Nadia, take my gun! I'm stronger, I'll lift the switch!" Nadia nods as she takes his gun and stands ready to defend.

Tom grunts and grimaces loudly as he pushes up on the switch. Finally, after about 10 seconds or so, he gets the switch up...just in time for the horde to start bearing down on them.

Tom sees the subway car start to go and turns to Nadia and frantically yells "COME ON!" Then, Tom turns and starts sprinting for the car.

It's a long, long sprint, and as Tom is sprinting at full speed, he can't help recall the nightmare he had the other night...when he was sprinting, and sprinting, and sprinting up the stairs, but the stairs just kept getting taller and taller.

But, this was no dream. Tom makes it to the car and grabs Vaughn's extended hand and hops on the subway car. Thinking Nadia is right behind him, he turns and extends his hand.

Only, Nadia is not right behind him.

She was a few steps behind him, running towards the subway car while also trying to fight off the horde. Tom stretches out his right hand as far as he can and yells "COME ON NADIA!" Nadia looks at him and stops fighting the horde. She now is entirely focused on getting on the subway car.

She extends her hand out and grazes Tom's fingertips. She takes another swipe at Tom's hand and grabs on to it. Tom lets out a relieved smile and says "Got ya!"

But, his smile is quickly erased when an infected man tackles Nadia, and a look of sheer horror takes over as the horde start to pounce on her.

Nadia screams "NOOOOO!" from under the horde. Tom screams "NADIA!" as he continues to watch the horde continue to swarm over Nadia's position. He turns to the inside of the subway car and yells "STOP THE DAMN CAR!"

Jack says "We can't..." Tom then moves to jump, but Vaughn holds him back. Squirming in his arms, Tom yells "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO SAVE HER!" Vaughn says "You can't, you don't have a gun!"

Tom, as she's still fighting Vaughn, replies "Then give me one! I'll meet you at the building!" Jack now has joined in on restraining Tom and, as he and Vaughn drag him into the car, Jack says "The building would be too far away, and there's too much of them!"

Tom is dragged kicking and screaming into the car. When Vaughn and Jack let go, he bolts for the door again, but is again restrained by Vaughn, who grabs him and drives him face-first into the wall to the right of the back door. Tom yells "LET GO OF ME! I HAVE TO PROTECT HER!" Vaughn says "You wouldn't have a chance!"

Sydney, standing from a distance from the whole thing, tells Tom "Vaughn's right, there's too many of them!" Tom then stops fighting and closes his eyes. Vaughn, seeing as Tom is finally calming down, lets go of him.

Tom leans in on the wall and buries his head in his right arm. In between deep breaths, he says "Oh my God, it's happening...my worst nightmare is coming true..." Irina asks "Was this what Nadia was talking about earlier?"

Tom turns and looks at Irina with tears in his eyes, then starts walking down the car, past everyone.

His face is a combination of rage and tears. He's literally shaking from the emotions...the feeling that Nadia is likely gone for good is starting to sink in.

The rest of the team watches Tom to see what he'll do.

Tom keeps walking down to the end of the subway car and spots a metal trashcan. In a fit of rage, he picks it up and starts slamming it on the wall repeatedly, then he slams it on a few windows and throws it across the aisle, shattering a couple more windows in the process.

When he's done, he lets out a LOUD primal scream of rage before sliding down in a subway car seat. He then buries his head in his hands because he can't think of anything better to do.

No one approaches him for some time.

* * *

><p>About 10 minutes have passed. An uncomfortable pall has been cast over the team in light of what happened to Nadia, and Tom's fit of rage that followed it.<p>

And no one has still dared approach Tom, who has since taken his head out of his hands and just sits there staring into space, almost catatonic.

Finally, Irina casually walks over and stands next to him. Tom just keeps staring forward, not saying anything. Irina asks "Can I sit next to you?" Tom, still blankly staring forward, motions his right hand over to the seat on his left, saying nothing in the process.

As she sits, Irina looks at him and says "Your fiancée is alive." Tom, still in a semi-catatonic state, deadpans "How do you know that?" Irina quickly replies "Because, this is not her destiny."

Tom then turns slowly to Irina and suddenly has formed an angry look on his face. "You would know all about destiny, wouldn't you?" Irina ignores the hostility in Toms's voice and quickly replies "Rambaldi has been right up to this point. This would seem like a strange time for him to start getting things wrong."

Tom turns away from Irina and starts staring into space again. "Nadia was all I had left to live for. Like I told you on the plane, she was my everything. Without her, I have nothing. Without her...I am nothing."

Tom then looks down at the palms of his hands as he recollects his night mare, when he had Nadia's blood dripping off of his hands.

After a few seconds, he shakes his head angrily and drops his hands. "Nadia's blood is on Sloane's and Elena's hands. They did all of this. They took my fiancee away from me. When I see them, I'm going to make them suffer. I almost single-handedly destroyed an entire Mexican gang after my friend Matt Aguero died. And I made them suffer...just like Matt wanted me to do before he took his last breath. And I'm going to give Elena and Sloane the same courtesy."

Tom then hangs his head and now, Irina looks curious. "What all did you do to this gang?" Tom looks at her and goes to say something...but then sees something outside the window that he did not expect to see: Arvin Sloane. He's standing at the platform, with a machine gun in his hand.

For the first time since he grabbed Nadia's hand before she got mauled by the infected, he cracks a smile. "Well, speak of the devil..." Tom rises to his feet slowly and keeps a death stare at Sloane.

The subway car stops suddenly. Tom quickly grabs a handle to keep his balance. Then, when the car stops, he walks over and stands facing the sliding door, locking eyes out the window with Sloane. Sydney runs up to him and asks "Tom, what are you doing?" Tom turns to Sydney slowly and just stares at her with a look of hostility on his face. He notices that Sydney is holding a machine gun in her hands, but not on her shoulder strap.

In a flash, Tom quickly grabs the machine gun from Sydney as the door opens. He then starts walking out of the car in a power march towards Sloane. He points his gun at him, which causes Sloane to point his gun at Tom in return.

Tom yells "Your daughter is a zombie snack down the rail line! I hope you're proud of what you've done here!" Sloane coolly replies "I'm still on your side."

Tom snap replies "LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" Tom cocks his gun back as he keeps walking towards Sloane. Sloane also cocks his gun and says "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to." Tom shakes his head slowly as his face turns sinister and evil. "You clearly didn't read my Rambaldi manuscript. The Passenger has perished, and the warpath is on! You just happen to be first..."

Just as he says that, Vaughn runs up and tackles him to the ground, forcing Tom's gun to go sprawling off to the side. Tom, lying face down on the ground with Vaughn on top of him, yells "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Vaughn calmly says "Killing him won't help us!"

Tom, looking back at Vaughn out of the corner of his left eye, says "Killing genocidal megalomaniacs isn't helping? What kind of sick, twisted world do you..." Sloane cuts him off as he lowers his gun. "Elena informed me about your role in the prophecy, and I'm sorry about what happened to your girlfriend, but..."

Tom starts laughing maniacally, causing Sloane to stop in his tracks and Vaughn to get off of Tom out of uncertainty over what's coming next. Tom gets up to his feet, and, still laughing like a crazy person, says "Oh, she was more than my girlfriend! She was my fiancée! I was going to be your son-in-law!"

Sloane looks at Tom slack-jawed and, in a deep, gravely voice says "She's your what?" Tom, keeping a maniacal smirk on his face, says "Yeah, right before we landed, I asked for her hand in marriage. I was going to ask for your permission, but you weren't available...just like you weren't available for a lot of things in Nadia's life. But, I got her mom's permission, and that was good enough for me!"

Tom looks back at Irina with that crazy smirk. Irina tentatively returns the smirk, still unsure about Tom's mental state.

From this point on, Sloane explains what he's been doing since knocking out Sydney and supposedly siding with Elena. He says he's been a mole on behalf of APO. As he starts giving out orders, Jack gives him a solid left cross to the face, knocking him down.

Tom smiles wide at that, then turns back at Jack. "Nice shot." Jack just looks at him and sarcastically says "Thanks." Then, Jack looks back at Sloane and, in a sinister voice, says "You're no longer in charge of this team."

* * *

><p><em>Note: As Sloane continues to explain what's going on, Nadia has somehow fought off the horde, but cannot get a response from the rest of her team. Before climbing up the ladder to the street level, Nadia looks down at her engagement ring on her left ring finger and, with a strong hint of regret in her voice, says "Tom...I'm so sorry...I should have just followed you." Nadia then climbs up the ladder and eventually gets caught by one of Elena's men. She's then restrained in a chair and, after refusing to side with Elena, is injected with infected tap water. Meanwhile, Sydney is sent to the rooftop to stop the Mueller device, while the rest of the team goes hunting for Elena...and they don't take long to find her. Vaughn eventually takes off to try to find ways to stop the Mueller device. The following takes place as Elena is being interrogated.<em>

* * *

><p>After being grilled by Irina for the last few minutes, Elena finally looks over at Tom and looks at him curiously. Tom just keeps his angry sneer, not saying anything.<p>

Elena smiles. "Well, if it isn't Nadia's handsome man..." Tom angrily cuts her off. "And if it isn't the woman that ruined my life in 2003 and betrayed Nadia her whole freaking life."

Elena, unfazed, says "I'm glad to see the scars have been healed from your Project Alloy surgery! How are you feeling physically?" Tom gets in Elena's face and leans in with an evil smirk. "Physically, I'm fine. Mentally, well...the reason I'm smiling is because I'm imagining all the ways I can kill you. You better be thankful that I have a proverbial leash on me...otherwise I'd do to you what I did to the leader of the Lobos Rabiosos gang in 1996. And you know what I did, it was in your notes on me."

Elena laughs. "Ah yes, I remember following you during that time period. You were like a wild animal! It was perfect training for your destiny!" Tom starts laughing maniacally and shaking his head. "Oh, you're wrong! All of Rambaldi's plans for Sydney and Nadia went to shit when my fiancée got mauled in the subway just a little while ago! But, I'm still going to..."

Now, it's Elena's turn to laugh, forcing Tom to stop. She eventually stops and says "I just saw Nadia not 5 minutes ago..." Tom's eyes almost pop out of his head in shock as he quickly leans back away from Elena's face. "Where did you find her?"

Elena smirks and says "Oh, we found her alive and well in town. You still have some time to protect her and fulfill your destiny." Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "What do you mean? WHERE IS SHE?"

Elena looks up. "Oh, she's up on the rooftop with her sister!" Unbeknownst to Tom and everyone else, Sloane slinks out of the room after hearing that.

Tom shakes his head again. "Too bad she won't ever fight her sister..." Elena cuts him off. "Not if she has a little tap water in her system."

Tom realizes the meaning of that right away and starts breathing heavy, the rage starting to bubble up inside. "YOU INFECTED HER? She...she was going to be my wife! And she was like a daughter to you!"

Elena looks down and says "There are some things bigger in life than love..." Tom cuts her off angrily. "Not to me."

Elena smiles at that and looks back at Tom. "I know. Go protect her. She's fighting Sydney as we speak. Oh, and make sure she gets this...she dropped it while she was here." Elena then reaches into her pocket and holds up the engagement ring that Tom gave Nadia before the mission.

Tom's face starts to shake in anger as he grabs the ring...and a couple of Elena's fingers. He jerks down quickly and Elena yells out in pain, now that a couple of her right hand fingers are broken.

Tom looks down at the ring, looking for damage. He then puts it in his pocket, apparently satisfied. He then looks up at Irina. With a look of bloodthirsty rage in his face, he tells her "Irina...please do something terrible to her."

Tom then takes off at breakneck speed out of the room.

A sprinting Tom rounds the corner to the left and spots the stairs leading to the rooftop at the end of the hallway. However, Vaughn steps in his path, causing Tom to stop in his tracks.

Vaughn asks "Where are you going?" Tom, breathing heavy because he's both angry and winded, replies "I'm going to save Nadia."

Vaughn shakes his head slowly. "I can't let you do that." Tom, surprised, says "WHAT?"

Vaughn, in an uncharacteristically sinister voice, says "I have to protect my fiancée, too. And I know what you're going to do to Sydney once you get to the rooftop." Tom walks up to Vaughn and stands in his face. "I will not hurt Sydney. I just want to get Nadia out of there!"

Vaughn coolly replies "You're just saying that. I know what comes in the prophecy if you hit the rooftop. I can't let you pass." Tom thinks for a bit, then replies in a deep, low, sinister voice "I'm going to ask you one time, and one time only, to get out of my way. You've prevented me from taking care of business twice tonight...there won't be a third!"

Vaughn just stands there, holding his ground. Tom, seeing as he's not going to move, gives Vaughn a HARD forearm blast with his right arm...the right arm with the titanium bones from Project Alloy. Vaughn crumples to the ground in a heap as Tom leapfrogs him and starts sprinting up the stairs.

Just like in his nightmare, Tom is sprinting as fast and as hard as he can up the stairs. As he's running, he can't help but wonder what's going to be on the other side once he gets up to the door. Nadia's alive...but is she really? And if Sydney kills her...well, he doesn't want to think about that.

Tom finally reaches the final flight of stairs and busts through the rooftop door and looks out to the left. He immediately sees Nadia strangling Sydney with a chain.

He's got to stop Nadia...but, before he can do anything, he catches something out of the corner of his left eye and turns to face it.

Arvin Sloane is standing there and pointing a gun in Nadia's direction.

Tom springs into action and starts charging at Sloane. As he's running at him, he yells "DON'T SHOOT! I CAN STOP THIS!" But Sloane doesn't flinch. Just as Tom is going to tackle him, Sloane gets a shot off and nails Nadia between the shoulder blades.

Tom tackles Sloane about a split second after he gets the shot off. Sloane and Tom hit the ground at the same time Nadia does.

Sloane's gun goes flying off the the side. Once Tom gets his senses back, he immediately looks over to where Nadia and Sydney were...and looks completely mortified when he sees Nadia's lifeless body lying next to Sydney.

The tears immediately form in his eyes. His body shakes. His stomach aches. His head hurts...

The nightmare just reached it's climax.

With the pressure building up in him, Tom screams "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" After he finishes, instead of rushing to Nadia's side, all Tom can think about is blood.

Tom looks down and locks eyes with Sloane, who's lying underneath him. Now consumed completely by rage, Tom immediately wraps his hands around Sloane's throat and starts strangling Sloane. As he does, he screams "THAT IS THE LAST MISTAKE YOU'RE EVER GOING TO MAKE!"

After a few seconds, Sloane's eyes start to roll back in his head. However, relief comes in the form of Sydney's voice: "She's alive!"

Tom looks over to the right and sees Sydney crouched over Nadia. Immediately, Tom releases the chokehold and runs over to Nadia and crouches over her. Behind him, Sloane starts coughing and tries to catch his breath.

Nadia has not passed out, but she just lies there, clinging on to life, her eyes slowly gazing over to Tom. Tom immediately notices the yellow, possessed eyes that Nadia has. Tom's heart sinks and he looks away, not wanting to believe what he's seeing.

However, he's forced to look back in her eyes quickly when she, in a very light and raspy voice, says "Tom..."

However, she can say no more as her body goes limp while she passes out and her eyes close. Tom gently puts his hand on her cheek, then slides it down to her neck and notices she still has a pulse...albeit a faint one.

Tom immediately breaks down in tears, unable to control his emotions at the moment. To no one in particular, he says between sobs "She still knew who I was...it didn't have to happen like this! It didn't have to happen at all!" Sydney looks at Tom and can't help but feel bad what he's going through.

As he's getting back to his feet, Sloane tells them "I had no choice..." Tom looks back at him angrily. "SHE STILL KNEW WHO I WAS! I could have stopped her!"

Sloane blankly replies "You wouldn't have made it in time to save Sydney." Tom shakes his head frantically. "You don't know that...you don't know shit!"

Sloane says "I do know that you possess the ability to heal Nadia in your bloodstream. That's why I shot her...to save Sydney and to give my daughter a chance." Tom looks back down at Nadia as he lets Sloane's words sink in. After all...he's right. He still can save her.

Tom suddenly bends over and scoops up Nadia in his arms. As he does, he looks back at Sydney, who has stayed silent throughout all of this, unsure of how Tom is going to react if she says anything.

Tom's face of rage has now been replaced with one of concern. Reason starts sinking back in to his mind. Tom lets out a deep breath and tells Sydney "I would never have hurt you. You have to believe me." Sydney just continues to look at him fearful, not sure what to think.

Tom then turns and starts carrying Nadia towards Sloane. He gets in his face and his look of anger returns. "All your life, you've been nothing but a bloodsucking tick, feeding on others in order to not only survive, but thrive. I remember asking you when were you going to meet your Waterloo, like Napoleon once did. Well, welcome to Waterloo, Arvin. However, I'm going to spare your life...for now. But if Nadia ends up dying over all of this...you die. Her blood is all over your hands. And you better get on those hands and your knees and start begging God...Rambaldi...whoever you worship...to spare Nadia's life. Because if she dies, I will hunt you down and I will butcher you...and I'll take my time so you can savor every last, painful second of your pathetic life. But, I'm not completely without mercy, so I will offer this...if she lives, and if we're are allowed to live out the rest of our lives in peace, I'll let you live. And don't think for one second that I won't make good on this promise. After all, it's been written into prophecy that the warpath will begin the moment Nadia takes her last breath."

Tom then finishes and keeps his death glare at Sloane. The glare is broken up by Sydney saying "Tom, get Nadia out of here!" Tom looks over at her with a blank look on his face. "Go save the freaking world...I'm going to try to save mine."

Sydney looks at him a little sullen over his words. Tom then turns quickly and sees Vaughn has reached the rooftop finally, with a split left eyebrow from Tom's forearm shot, and a stream of blood running down the left side of his face. Vaughn assesses the situation, then looks at Tom, who's approaching him angrily with a lifeless Nadia in his arms.

Suddenly, Tom stops walking and gets in Vaughn's face. "Nadia's blood is on your hands, too." Vaughn replies "I was just looking out for..."

Tom cuts him off angrily "Don't speak to me. Ever. I just hope you're happy that you still get to enjoy life with your fiancée while mine clings to hers. I can never forgive you for what you've done to me here. Now...this time...you will get out of my way."

This time, Vaughn obeys Tom's request and steps off to the side, allowing Tom to walk through the rooftop entrance and down the stairs.

* * *

><p><em>Note: Sydney does save the world by cutting the correct wire, causing an avalanche of water to fall from the sky. Before she does that, Elena is shot and killed by Irina. Sydney, Sloane, and Vaughn catch up with Tom standing outside an elevator. They get in the elevator together. As they're in the elevator, Tom keeps pressure on Nadia's bullet wound. They do end up surviving the waterfall.<em>

* * *

><p>Irina stands outside, leaning against the Oransky Building, digesting what has happened this night. Jack is on lookout about 50 yards ahead of her.<p>

As she continues to wonder if the rest of the team made it, she hears a female voice in her head all of the sudden. _"Irina..."_

Irina quickly stands up straight and starts looking for people around her. All she finds is Jack, who's paying her no attention. The voice says again _"Irina, you can't see me, and you don't know me. But I know you."_

Irina shakes her head and whispers "Who is this?" The voice replies _"My name is Mary Landry Falk. I'm Tom's mother."_

Irina starts pacing off to the right. She whispers "What is this? What do you want?" Mary replies _"I'm dead. But, I can communicate with you, Sydney, Nadia, and my son from the afterlife. And I'm talking to you because I need your help, and you need mine."_

Irina stops and turns to see if Jack has noticed anything. He hasn't. Irina then turns back and starts pacing the other way. She asks "How can you help me? I've never met you." After a pause for a few seconds, Mary replies _"I know that you seek The Horizon. And I know a lot about Rambaldi's prophecy that you don't. In exchange for my help in the coming months, I need you to protect my son."_

Irina looks confused as she stops pacing again. "Protect him? How?" Mary quickly replies _"He's not doing well, and it's going to be some time before he recovers from this. Pretty soon, you're going to see him holding Nadia in his arms. Please try to comfort him, I know you can. He respects you and he'll listen to you. I also need you to do something else for him. I know it won't make any sense at first..."_

Mary stops as Irina sees Tom walking out of the building on the far side, holding Nadia in his arms and being flanked by Sydney, Sloane, and Vaughn. Irina whispers "Mary?" Mary whispers _"I have to go. Please help my son. I'll give you the details later."_

Irina looks away, digesting her supernatural conversation with Tom's mother. However, she jumps when she hears Vaughn ask Tom "I can help carry her..." Tom looks over at him and snaps "YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH ALREADY!"

Vaughn stops and has a a look of disdain on his face as Tom marches away. Sydney tries to put a hand on Tom's shoulder, but he angrily shrugs it off. Irina is taking notice of all this and has come to the conclusion that Tom is not well, indeed.

Irina steps in front of Tom as he approaches Jack. Tom stops and looks at her with a look of concern on her face. Irina looks down at Nadia and assesses her situation, then back up at Tom. "Tom, I know how you're feeling..."

Tom turns and gives her a distraught glare. "You have no idea what I'm feeling because I don't know how I'M feeling anymore. I don't know whether to be hopeful or angry." Irina smiles and says "You should be hopeful. You haven't lost faith in Nadia up to this point, and you can't give up on her now. She's searched all her life for someone to believe in her and she found you. And now, she needs you more than ever."

Tom looks down at Nadia's face and, fighting back the tears, he says "I love her so much...she gives me peace in my wretched life. I don't know what I'll do without her." Irina quickly replies "Don't think like that. She's going to survive. After all, she's a Derevko."

Tom looks at her a little funny, and then chuckles a bit. "I never thought of her that way..." Irina smiles and says "As long as you continue to have faith in Nadia, she has hope."

Tom looks at her with a very somber look and says "You're right. Thanks for the kind words." Irina pats Tom on the shoulder and says "Mothers know best, right?" Tom digests that comment for a second...then goes back to focusing on Nadia.

Irina then turns to talk to Jack and Sydney. Tom looks back at her and yells out "Hey!" Irina stops and looks back at him. Tom smiles and says "Thank you." Irina asks "For what?" Tom quickly replies "For bringing Nadia into this world."

Irina cracks a smile and says "No problem. Good luck...my future son-in-law." Tom smiles again and looks back down at Nadia and gives her a kiss on the forehead, then says "Everything's going to be fine. We'll be in San Felipe before we know it."

* * *

><p><em>Note: Irina says her goodbyes. Jack actually advises her to escape, which she happily obliges. Sloane is arrested and thrown in federal prison for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which betraying APO. Meanwhile, Nadia is stabilized and transported back with the team to Los Angeles and immediately is placed in the hospital.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Los Angeles<strong>_

Tom sits next to Nadia, who is laid out unconscious in the hospital bed. He's in the process of filling up an empty blood bag and has a hopeful look on his face.

As the blood bag fills, Tom reaches into his pocket and pulls out Nadia's engagement ring. He examines it again, making sure it's not scuffed up from Sovogda. He's happy when he sees it isn't.

Tom stands up and leans over Nadia to grab her left hand. He holds it up and slides the ring on her ring finger. He then sits back down and smiles at Nadia. "You're going to be so beautiful on our wedding day...I can't wait until I see you walk down the aisle."

After he says that, the same female doctor that treated Tom when he was shot walks in. She grins as she looks at the full blood bag. "Ok, we're full."

She looks over at Tom and takes out his needle on the inside of his left elbow and puts a cottonball over the needle hole. She then applies a strip of tape to keep the cottonball in place.

The doctor then takes the needle she used on Tom out of the tube and replaces it with a fresh one. She leans over, rubs the inside of Nadia's right elbow with alcohol, dries it off, and sticks the needle in.

Tom smiles as the blood starts to go through the tube and into Nadia. Then he looks back up at Nadia's face and smiles wider. "San Felipe, here we come!" The doctor looks at him curiously. "What?"

Tom looks at her with a wide smile and says "Me and Nadia are going there on vacation. It's in Baja California, along the Bay of California. I couldn't think of a better place to celebrate our engagement!" The doctor smiles and says "Well, we just have to hope for another one of your miracles!"

Tom shakes his head confidently. "It's not a miracle when you know it will work." The doctor laughs a bit as she looks at Nadia's vitals.

Then, she leans over and pulls down the collar of Nadia's hospital shirt a bit and notices the gunshot wound is gone. She smiles at Tom as she says "Here we go again! No bullet hole!"

Tom nods and smiles assuredly. It would appear The Lifeforce is working once again.

The doctor then leans back and looks at Nadia's vitals again. Her expression immediately changes from happy to confused. "Hmm, her vitals should be improving by now..." Tom now looks a little concerned himself as he looks at Nadia's vitals and notices they haven't moved from their high levels.

And then, Tom notices Nadia's right arm start to move. He raises his eyebrows surprised that she's coming back already.

The doctor moves out of the way as Tom walks over to the side of Nadia's head and strokes her hair back as she starts to stir. "It's ok, babe, it's ok. I'm here. Everything's going to be..."

And then, Nadia opens her eyes...those same yellow, possessed eyes from Sovogda.

Tom, now in spooked disbelief, staggers back quickly until he hits the counter behind him. He looks on stunned as Nadia starts convalescing. The doctor quickly restrains her shoulders and yells "I NEED HELP IN HERE!"

Tom's bottom lip starts to quiver and tears start forming in his eyes. He slowly shakes his head and says "No, no, no, no, NO! This isn't supposed to happen!"

A couple nurses run in. The doctor exclaims "Hold her down!" The nurses do as instructed as the doctor runs past Tom to grab a syringe and a vial of fluid.

Tom walks over to the doctor and frantically asks "What's going on? What happened?" The doctor shakes her head and says "I don't know..." as she walks past Tom. The doctor sticks the needle into the vial of fluid and draws fluid out of it. She then walks over to Nadia's left arm, where her IV drip is, and injects a struggling Nadia with the fluid.

Almost immediately, Nadia relaxes and she sinks into her hospital bed. Her eyes are closed again as the fluid has apparently knocked her out. The nurses then stop restraining her and walk out of the room.

Tom walks up to Nadia again and, with tears pouring out of his eyes, asks her "Why...why didn't it work?" The doctor looks over and says "I don't know. We'll run some tests to see what happened. Your blood DID heal her gunshot wound..."

Tom then gently lifts Nadia's head up and looks at the scar she has from when Anna Espinosa branded her with a Rambaldi symbol. Only, the scar is gone. "She had to get a skin graft on the back of her neck when she was branded...that scar is gone too. I don't understand..." The doctor then hypothesizes "It could be that your blood can only heal wounds...or that her disease has some sort of immunity to the elements in your blood. Maybe some blood tests can tell us more."

Suddenly, Sydney quickly walks into the room. She sees Nadia passed out and Tom leaning over her with tears in his eyes and a sad look on his face. The first things out of Sydney's mouth are "Is she ok?"

Tom looks back at Sydney and slowly shakes his head. His lip still quivering, he says "My blood did nothing for her infection." Sydney holds up her hand to her mouth to hide her surprise. The doctor says "We're going to have to put her in a medical coma to keep her stable. Unfortunately, there's no known cure for her infection."

And at that point, the reality of the situation hits Tom. He completely breaks down. He sits in the chair he was in while he was filling the blood bag and starts openly sobbing.

Sydney walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder...and he doesn't brush it away this time. Meanwhile, the doctor solemnly says "Our team of doctors will research a cure for her."

With that, Tom just buries his head in his hands and starts mumbling "This isn't happening...this isn't happening..."

The doctor, left with nothing to say, walks past Tom and Sydney to unhook the now half-full blood bag. She takes the needle out of Nadia's arm and takes the bag away with her.

Sydney, meanwhile, rubs Tom's shoulder and says "Tom, I can't imagine what you're going through, but you have to believe..." Tom looks at her quickly and cuts her off angrily. "BELIEVE? BELIEVE IN WHAT? NADIA'S GONE!"

Sydney backs off a couple of steps and says "No she isn't! And don't get angry with me, it's not me you're mad at!" Tom stands up quickly and points a finger in her face. "No, I'm angry at Sloane and Vaughn!"

Sydney looks displeased that he would say that. "What? Why Vaughn?" Tom wipes some tears away and his look of rage that he had in Sovogda returns to his face. "I could be mad at him for stopping me from killing Sloane in the subway. I could be mad at him for delaying me from saving Nadia on the rooftop. But no, I'm mad at him because he prevented me from saving Nadia on the subway and avoiding this IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Sydney shakes her head quickly. "Tom, he was looking out for..." Tom snaps back "DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO JUSTIFY HIS ACTIONS! Maybe I could have helped Nadia fight off the horde, and when I did, I could have protected her from Elena!"

Sydney quickly responds "Or maybe you could have died!" Tom forms an angry sneer and says "I'd rather die trying to save the woman I love than live with this pain I'm feeling right now! But regarding Vaughn, I do agree that this all wouldn't have happened without Sloane. He's still #1 on my..."

Sydney, still looking down, cuts Tom off "I know you don't want to hear this, but I think Sloane was doing the right thing..." Tom snaps and says "HE COMMITTED GENOCIDE ON AN ENTIRE CITY AND HE SHOT THE LOVE OF MY LIFE! HELLO? ARE YOU INSANE?"

Sydney looks back up at Tom and intently replies "He tried to help..." Tom cuts her off. "...by watching idly as a city devoured itself? He put the crap in the water and he was there to build the device! And then, he 'helped' by busting a cap in my fiancée's back! What is wrong with you?"

Sydney replies "I know it seems he did wrong, on the surface, but you have to look..." Tom gets in Sydney's face and, with an angry scowl on his face, says "Damn you for trying to take his side while your sister lies here because of his actions. Damn you!"

Sydney now gives Tom an angry glare back, offended over his comments. Then, Tom looks past her shoulder as he sees Sloane walking down the hallway in shackles, flanked by two prison guards.

Tom's angry scowl somehow gets angrier as he sees Sloane walk into the room. Tom steps around Sydney and gets in Sloane's face. He's breathing deeply...seething in his anger. Sloane picks up on that and asks "What happened? Didn't you give Nadia your blood?"

Tom replies angrily "It worked on her bullet wound, but it did nothing for her infection." Sloane leans left and looks past Tom's right shoulder at Nadia, then hangs his head. "I thought it would work..." Then, Sloane looks back up remorsefully at Tom. "But, even still, if you had restrained Nadia, she'd still be infected, and we'd still be in this predicament."

Tom shakes his head. "No! No, if you hadn't gone and infected the water during your time in Omnifam, we wouldn't be in ANY predicament, NOW WOULD WE!" Sloane looks at him blankly and doesn't give him a response.

Tom looks up at the prison guards, then back at Sloane. "Even though you helped commit genocide on an entire city, in addition to shooting my fiancée, I'm sure you're going to want to weasel your way out of prison somehow. And if you do somehow manage to get free, you're going to want to do everything in your power to tap into your Rambaldi sources to find a cure for Nadia...if one even exists. Otherwise...I will fulfill that promise I made to you on the rooftop in Sovogda. For once in your life, I DARE you to do the right thing for your daughter."

Tom then turns to Sydney. "And as for you...you go ahead and go to Santa Barbara with that piece of crap you're going to marry. Meanwhile, I'll be back here, trying to find a way to cope with the fact that I might not ever get to see my fiancée walk down the aisle. I hope you have a great freaking time in Santa Barbara while your sister lies in a coma...but don't you ever expect me to forgive Vaughn for doing what he did to me in Sovogda! And if you have a problem with that...then have a great freaking life for all I care!"

Tom then turns away from Sydney and storms out of the hospital room. Sydney looks both hurt and angry at Tom's words. Sloane, meanwhile, glares at him as he walks away and looks to be in deep thought over these latest circumstances.

As Tom walks down the hallway, he starts getting overcome with grief. He walks up to the elevator and hits the button to go down. He then leans up against the wall with his right hand and lets some tears fall from his face.

The elevator door opens and he walks through the doors. He's alone in the elevator, which is a relief to him. The doors close and Tom hits the button to go down to the ground floor.

As he starts grieving again, he looks up to the ceiling. "Dad, this is your son. You once told me that I might understand what you felt when Mom died." Tom then starts sobbing again, and as he sobs, he says "I understand now, and I forgive you! I don't know how long I'm going to last..."

As he says that, the elevator door opens. A middle-aged blonde-haired man stands in front of him, next to a woman with medium-length black hair, and a young black-haired girl who might be 5 or 6 years old.

Tom looks at the parents, then down at the little girl. He then realizes he's probably being rude and says "Sorry, excuse me." Tom then walks by the family as they get into the elevator. The family members give him a weird look, but step on to the elevator anyway.

As he walks into the parking garage, he thinks about that family...and how those parents could have been him and Nadia down the road...with a girl of their own.

And then he realizes that future might not be there anymore.

The thoughts make him sob some more as he gets to his black Cadillac and opens the driver's door. He gets in the car and closes the door.

Instead of starting his car right away, he stares off into space for a while...still trying to come to grips with what is happening.

Only one conclusion comes to his mind: "I need a drink."

**END OF SEASON 4**


	22. Ch 21: Crossing Lines

**CROSSING LINES**

_Author Note: In the original Project Nadia, I stopped the whole "timeline of chapter" thing at this point. This will be the case once again. All of the events from here on out will take place in Season 5, but unlike the first 20 chapters, the story will no longer be chained to the storyline, partly because I hated Season 5 and partly because the best way this story will be told from now on is almost entirely through Tom's eyes._

* * *

><p><em><strong>San Felipe<strong>_

She could hardly contain her excitement.

Nadia stands looking out at the ocean, with a very content look on her face as she sports a green tank top along with a pair of short white capri pants.

The tide causes the waves to roll in one after another...repeatedly splashing against her legs. This makes her happy. That, and the gentle breeze coming in off the ocean and the sunrise that's coming up over the water.

She hears a door slide open and closed behind her. She turns and smiles as she sees Tom Falk walking out of the back of their small villa, wearing a blue tank top and white cargo shorts.

Tom's beaming himself as he looks at Nadia in full bliss. This, after all, is what he was hoping for. He hoped to be in San Felipe with the woman that he's going to spend the rest of his life with, even if this was just vacation and not their permanent home.

Tom strolls up to Nadia. From behind, he hugs her around her waist and gives her a kiss on the cheek. With a smile, he says "Good morning, beautiful." Nadia giggles a bit and says "Good morning, handsome!"

Tom then looks out at the sunrise with Nadia and smiles wider. "I told you this place was beautiful." Nadia quickly replies "It is! And the weather is perfect this time of year!"

Tom then starts rocking her a bit in his arms. "Can't you see yourself living here year-round?" Nadia thinks for a bit, then smiles wide and says "Yeah, I can."

Tom smiles and says "Well, a little later, we'll go into town and check out some things to do..." Nadia looks down and holds Tom's hands. She then looks back at Tom with a mischievous smirk and says "Or...we could just stay here for the day and make our own fun..."

Tom chuckles a bit and says "I like your style." Nadia laughs and says "These next two weeks are going to be so great after what we experienced in Sovogda."

Tom cracks a smile and says "I'm so glad that you're here to experience this..."

"No she's not."

Tom lets go of Nadia and turns around and sees Arvin Sloane standing near their villa. Tom asks "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in prison?" Sloane just stares at him blankly.

"I stopped you from saving Nadia in the subway. This isn't happening."

Tom looks to the left, down the shoreline, and spots Vaughn there, giving him a similar blank stare. Tom starts walking towards him. "And what are YOU doing here? You're supposed to be in Santa Barbara with Sydney!"

Sloane then says "And you were supposed to protect Nadia. That was your destiny. And you failed." Tom looks over at Sloane and says "That's because you helped infect her, and then you shot her!"

Vaughn laughs and says "Congratulations on being the only person in Rambaldi's prophecy to have failed their role!" Tom turns back to Vaughn, shakes his head quickly and says "YOU'RE NOT REAL!"

A phone rings from the villa. Tom looks over at the villa and wonders if he should answer that. Then, from behind, he hears Nadia's voice. "You promised that you'd protect me! And instead, you left me to die! You betrayed me, just like Elena and my father did!"

Tom turns at her quickly and goes to say something...but instead sees that Nadia has those yellow, possessed eyes from Sovogda. Tom shakes his head quickly again and starts backing off in fear.

Another ring of the phone is heard from the villa. Sloane and Vaughn start marching in on Tom. Tom looks at them, then back at Nadia, who's started her death march as well.

As the three bear down on him, Tom clutches the sides of his head and closes his eyes. He yells "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom's apartment<strong>_

Tom suddenly jumps awake. The nightmare is over.

Almost immediately, though, he realizes his real-life nightmare is continuing. His apartment is a mess. Pizza boxes are scattered on the coffee table, along with empty bottles of beer and booze. Clothes lay in a heap in various spots on the floor. The apartment reeks of alcohol and body odor.

He sits on the couch, having woken up holding a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels in his right hand and wearing nothing but a wifebeater and boxer shorts. His facial hair is somewhere beyond a 5 o'clock shadow and he also has formed bags under his eyes. He looks outside and wonders what time it is, but he has no idea. The days just roll one into the other since he left Nadia in the hospital.

While he's in his drunken stupor, the phone continues to ring from the kitchen until the answering machine picks up, distracting him.

The answering machine message goes "_Hi, this is Tom..._" and then in Nadia's voice "_...and this is Nadiaaaa!_" and then together "_LEAVE A MESSAGE!_" followed by Tom and Nadia laughing.

The answering machine beeps, then we hear "Tom, this is Mike, where are you? It's been four days since you got back from Russia..."

Tom springs up and quickly staggers over to the kitchen, keeping his bottle of Jack Daniels in his right hand. Before his friend from Storm Crew finishes his message, Tom answers the phone. Trying to hide his slurring, he says "Mike! I'm here, I'm here. I'm alive."

Mike replies "Tom! What's going on, you said you were going to call after you revived Nadia...wait, are you drunk?" Tom starts laughing and says "I'm not drunk, I haven't taken a drink since..."

Tom then takes a swig off of his bottle of whiskey. He puts the phone back up to his mouth and says "Ahhh...since right now, actually!"

Mike, with a noticeable tone of disappointment, says "Tom, what is going on? What happened?" Tom slams his bottle down on the counter. "What happened, Mike? WHAT HAPPENED? I'm a giant freaking failure, that's what happened!"

Mike quickly replies "Your blood didn't work on her?" Tom angrily says "No, it didn't work! Nadia's still infected! My blood healed her bullet wound, but it did jack shit for her infection! She's lying in a medical coma with no cure for her."

Mike sighs and says "Tom, I'm so sorry man..." Tom cuts him off "I had a role to play...I had to protect her and I FAILED! And now, I'm never going to get to marry her! EVER!"

Mike, with a tone of astonishment in his voice, says "You're giving up on her already?" Tom takes another drink from his bottle and says "What is there to give up on? The prophecy said that either Sydney would live or Nadia would live. Well, Sydney is alive and well and is probably enjoying herself in Santa Barbara while I'm going on a bender, knowing that Nadia's in another version of the eternal sleep they call death."

Mike angrily asks "Who are you? Who is this person I'm talking to?" Tom looks confused. "What are you talking about, Mike? I'm that guy you met in the Anti-Cartel in 1992..."

Mike says "NO! I'm not talking to Tom Falk right now, I'm talking to a drunk and pathetic replica of him!" Tom now looks angry. "Hey! What gives you the right..."

Mike continues unabashed. "SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH!" Tom freezes, surprised at Mike's outburst.

Mike takes a deep breath and continues. "Tom, do you remember the reason you joined APO?" Tom chuckles and says "Yeah, and I failed at that too..."

Mike says "You told me numerous times about Nadia's rough upbringing and how you SWORE you'd be the one man that would be there for her, as long as a heart beats in her chest, no matter what! Those were YOUR words!" Tom angrily takes a drink and says "Yeah, what's your point?"

Mike sighs and says "Geez, you are drunk...my POINT is that you're not one to break your promises, especially to the people you care about! Why are you leaving Nadia hang out to dry like this? In fact, why are you leaving YOURSELF hang out to dry like this?"

Tom sighs and looks down. "Because I don't know what to do, Mike. The only thing that is keeping me from blowing my own head off right now is this bottle of Jack..." Mike says "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! Tom, you're talking about committing suicide?"

Tom starts tearing up and says "I can't live without her..." Mike says "Then go be with her. Have you been back to the hospital since you left there three days ago?"

Tom shakes his head. "No...no, I haven't." Mike says "Go visit her at the hospital. And I know how your mind works. Taking time off from work is doing you no favors. So go see Nadia every day, go back to work, and you'll get through this. And don't give up hope on Nadia, Tom! You made her that promise to be there for her no matter what...live up to that promise!"

Tom then goes to take a drink from his bottle of Jack Daniels...then he suddenly stops. He lowers the bottle and looks at it for a while in disgust. After a few seconds, Mike says "Tom? Are you there?"

Tom blankly says "I just realized something, Mike." Mike, a little worried, says "What?" Tom quickly replies "I'm becoming my father. My dad went through a bender that lasted for 25 years after my mom died. I can't be like this..."

Mike says "You're not your father. You're Thomas Loren Falk...the man that stands by the people he believes in...no matter what." Tom sets down the bottle of Jack Daniels and says "You're right. You're absolutely right. Nadia's not gone...and as long there's a heart beating in MY chest...I have to believe in her!"

Mike laughs a bit and says "Now, there's the man I know!" Tom smiles himself. "You know, you've always been a good friend...and my voice of reason."

Mike says "Don't mention it. Now, you have about 5 hours to sober up before the sun rises. Go back to work and get back on track, buddy. And don't leave me hanging like this again! I was about to fly down there and kick down your door!" Tom laughs and says "I know you would have, Mike. Anyway, I'll catch you later. Thanks for calling."

Mike says "Uh, are you forgetting something?" Tom shrugs. "Uh, what?" Mike replies "Strength and honor!" Tom chuckles and says "Strength and honor...always."

Tom then hangs up the portable phone and sets it on the receiver. Then, he looks back at the bottle of Jack Daniels with a look of disgust. He quickly grabs it and walks over to the sink and starts pouring it out.

When he's done, he tosses the bottle away into the garbage can and then reaches up and grabs another bottle of Jack Daniels on top of the refrigerator that he intended to drink when he finished the one he was working on. He opens it up and starts pouring it's contents out in the sink as well.

As the liquid pours out of the bottle, Tom stares at the bottle with a look of menace and says "Dad, I may have forgiven you, but I'm not going to BE you. I WILL see Nadia walk down that aisle."

Tom watches the last drops of whiskey pour down the drain, then he tosses the empty bottle into the garbage can angrily. He then quickly walks into the bathroom and closes the door. We hear the sound of a shower being started up behind the door.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nadia's hospital room<strong>_

Tom walks into Nadia's hospital room with a cheery look on his face. He's dressed in his usual APO attire, which is a business suit. He's clean shaven again and looks a lot better since Mike called him.

Tom immediately sees Nadia lying peacefully in bed. He walks up to her slowly and sits down in a chair next to her.

He reaches over the rail and starts rubbing her shoulder. As he looks at her face, he's finding it harder to keep his smile. He musters a "Hey, beautiful..."

Then, he has to start fighting back the tears again.

Tom buries his head in his right hand. "I'm so sorry, Nadia...I'm so sorry I broke my promise to you. You trusted me to protect you and I failed..."

Tom then quickly shakes his head and wipes his tears away. "No, this is not going to happen like this. I will not come here and start feeling sorry and depressed. I've heard that, even though you're in a coma, that my positive thoughts and feelings might help you."

Tom looks up at her vitals and sees they've gone down a bit from a few days ago. "Hey, your blood pressure is down! You must be fine from the gunshot!"

"She is."

Tom looks back and sees the female doctor that treated Nadia a few days ago walk in. Tom smiles and says "Hey, doctor." The doctor cracks a small smile and says "Good morning! I was wondering where you were the past few days, I thought you'd be right here by her side."

Tom looks down and remorsefully says "I wasn't myself since she got here. But, no more of that. I'm standing by Nadia as she's stood by me." The doctor smiles wide and says "Good! She hasn't had any visitors since Sydney and her father left the room four days ago."

Tom lets out a sarcastic laugh and shakes his head. "No one at all, huh? Anyway, I'm not going to dwell on bad things while I'm here with her. How is she doing?" The doctor, as she replaces an IV bag, says "Well, you were right about her vitals just now. It appears that her heart is back into a normal rhythm, meaning that she's fully recovered from her gunshot."

Then, she pauses. Tom notices. "But..." The doctor says "But, there's no improvement in her infection. We've tried a few things, but nothing we've done has even shown the faintest of hope for helping her. Our team is working hard to find a cure, and so is her father."

Tom looks at her incredulously. "Huh? What can Sloane do while he's rotting in prison?" The doctor shrugs. "I don't know, but he told me that, while he was there, that he'd research every medical journal he can to find a cure. He's trying to help."

Tom looks down at the ground and just shakes his head. "Wow..." The doctor asks "This surprises you? That her father would do this?" Tom looks back at her with a sarcastic smirk. "It's a long story. But, the short version is...yes and no. And that's all I'm going to say."

The doctor nods and says "Well, we're all doing our best to find a cure. Just keep having faith. That's the best thing you can do for her." Tom smiles and says "I will, thanks."

As he says that, the doctor looks to the hospital room entrance and looks surprised. "Well, look at this! She has another visitor!"

Tom turns quickly and sees Jack has entered the hospital room.

Jack looks at him, then back at the doctor. "How is Nadia?" The doctor says "The same as yesterday, when we talked on the phone. We're still trying to develop a cure, but we're not having much luck yet."

Jack nods and looks back at Tom. "Can I have a word with Mister Falk alone?" The doctor nods quickly and says "Sure, sure. I'll be back a little later." The doctor then walks out of the room.

Jack takes a seat next to Tom and asks "How are you feeling?" Tom smirks and says "Better, thank you. I thought I was losing my mind..."

Jack quickly replies "So did all of us." Tom sighs and says "I know, and I'm sorry. Believe me, that fact troubled me the past few days. But, that's all behind me. I'm ready to come back to work if you'll have me."

Jack smirks back. "Good, because I was going to ask you if you were ready to come back. We're dramatically short-handed now." Tom nods and looks down. "Because of me and Nadia..."

Jack, a little surprised, replies "You haven't talked to Sydney?" Tom looks back up at Jack with a look of shock. "No, should I have?"

Jack sighs and says "Something happened to them on the way down to Santa Barbara. Their car was run over by agents with the group Prophet Five. Sydney is fine, but Vaughn was working as a double agent for them."

Tom's jaw drops and he looks away in disbelief. "Wow...Vaughn is a double agent...how cute." Jack ignores Tom's hostility towards Vaughn and says "His real name is Andre Michaux. He's in Rome with Sydney, trying to get a book that might give us more information on Prophet Five."

Tom then looks back at Jack a little quizzically. "But, you just said Vaughn is a double..." Jack replies "He says he hasn't betrayed APO..." Tom laughs suddenly, cutting Jack off. "Well, gee whiz, where have I heard that one before?"

Jack looks at him blankly. "You're referring to Arvin Sloane." Tom nods his head slowly. "A life-long Rambaldi addict somehow convinces the people he scorned years ago to work under him under the guise that he's reformed, and then bails on them to help build the thing that he's sought to build all of his life...and shoots my future wife in the back. Yes, Jack, I'm talking about Arvin Sloane."

Jack replies "He's being dealt with. But, regarding Vaughn...Sydney and Dixon are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I am too. And if you slid your vendetta with him aside, you'd see that he has no motive to betray us." Tom sighs and looks down, thinking about Vaughn's motives. Then, he shrugs. "You might be right. But, I still hate the jackoff. And I'm going to say no more on the subject of Michael Vaughn, because I promised to stay happy and positive when I'm around Nadia."

Jack says "Anyway, I was hoping you'd return because we have another lead on Prophet Five, and we need your help." Tom leans forward and asks "Why do I suspect that I'm not going to like this?"

Jack replies "Julian Sark is at APO as we speak. He claims that he has inner knowledge of how Prophet Five operates and is willing to divulge that information to us under one condition." Tom sarcastically asks "What, does he want a nice bottle of wine and a record player to play his favorite yuppie, classical bullshit music?"

Jack shakes his head. "He's only agreed to reveal the Prophet Five information to you." Tom now looks puzzled. "Huh? Me? I've never dealt with the guy..."

Jack says "I don't know why he asked to talk to you and you only, nor will he tell us. But, this is our best chance at gleaning any information we can on Prophet Five. I was hoping you'd be ready to come back to work today so you can talk to him." Tom stands up quickly and smirks. "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play."

Jack stands up as well. "Good, let's head in." Tom starts to follow Jack out, but then says "Wait..." Jack stops as Tom turns around and watches Tom walk over to Nadia's bedside.

He leans over and gives Nadia a kiss on the forehead and strokes some of her hair back. With a wide smile on his face, he says "You can't get rid of me even if you tried! We're going to get through this...together. I love you, beautiful." Tom gives Nadia another kiss on the forehead and turns away to walk out with Jack.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office<strong>_

Tom walks into the APO office area with Jack. Marshall and Dixon, who were talking about something near Marshall's office, both take notice and walk up to them.

Marshall says "Hey Tom! Good to see you back! Oh, and...uh...sorry about Nadia and all...that really sucks." Tom pats Marshall on the shoulder and says "Thanks, Marshall."

Dixon then says "You have my sympathies, too. Nadia's a quality person." Tom smirks and says "She is. And I appreciate the kind words. Anyway, where is Sark?"

Jack says "He's in Interrogation Room 1." Dixon then hands Tom a file. "In case you wanted to research him before you go in..." Tom shakes his head. "Nah, I know who I'm dealing with. I appreciate it, though."

Jacks then asks "Are you sure you're ok to do this interrogation?" Tom chuckles and says "Jack, I'm back. I can do this."

As he says that, an older black man approaches the crew. "Ah, you must be Tom Falk!" Tom looks at him a little funny and says "Yeah, and you are?" The man smirks. "Gordon Dean, Office of Special Investigations."

Tom then reaches out and shakes Gordon's hand. "Good to meet you. Now, what brings you to our humble abode?" Gordon chuckles and says "I assume you're aware of Michael Vaughn's Prophet Five affiliation."

Tom sarcastically smirks and shakes his head. "Yeah, I'm aware." Gordon notices Tom's reaction and says "And I understand that you harbor some sort of animosity towards Vaughn for his actions against you in Sovogda."

Tom looks back at Gordon and says "No comment." Gordon nods his head. "Understood. Look, I don't want to hold you up any longer from your business. I'll be personally overseeing your interrogation with Julian Sark. I'm sure you'll do fine."

Tom nods confidently. "I appreciate the confidence. In fact, the show's about to start in a bit, why don't you come with me?" Gordon shakes his head. "No, I won't be with you with Sark. I'll be in the observation room monitoring via camera. Good luck."

Tom smirks and says "None needed." Then, he turns and walks down the hallway towards the interrogation room.

* * *

><p><em>Warning: READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! One of the reasons I almost made this story M rated is because of what's coming.<em>

* * *

><p>Tom opens the door to Interrogation Room 1 and sees Sark seated directly to the right, wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks. His hair is blonde and buzzed, and he is wearing a very confident smirk on his face.<p>

Tom walks around to the other side of the table and sets Sark's file on the table and sits across from him.

Tom stares down Sark defiantly for a while, and Sark does the same in kind. Finally, Sark asks "What? I'm not even going to get the courtesy of a hello?" Tom shakes his head and just keeps staring at Sark.

The staredown continues for a few seconds. Now, Sark starts to fidget a bit, a little creeped out now. "Do I have mustard on my face or something?" Tom shakes his head again and remains silent.

Sark all of the sudden starts laughing. "Ok, what is this? A new intimidation tactic?" Tom finally says "I'm just trying to figure out why you chose me to interview you."

Sark looks at him a little funny "Why do you think I did?" Tom holds out his arms in a shrug. "Well, I'm not really sure...you didn't just pick my name out of a hat of APO names, did you?"

Sark chuckles. "No, I didn't. I just thought we could relate...considering what we both have gone through in our lives." Tom leans forward, still looking defiant. "You're a preppy rich boy with a taste for mischief and fine wine. I'm a country boy from the sticks who just so happens to have a partial titanium skeleton and a role in Rambaldi's prophecy that wasn't fulfilled. I'm failing to see what it is we have in common...well, besides our blonde hair."

Sark looks a little surprised. "You really think our hair is all we have in common?" Tom leans back. "What, do we share the same astrology sign, too?"

Sark chuckles again and then leans forward. "I just wanted to level with a man who also has loved and lost in his life."

Tom looks up at the ceiling, trying to deflect that comment. His confident look still etched on his face, he says "You must be referring to my ex-wife, because Nadia's still alive." Sark deadpans "Well, not exactly _alive_, per say..."

Tom looks back at Sark a little irritated. "You think we can relate over the women in our lives? Nadia Santos was an orphan who became a slave to a prophecy and constantly lived with betrayal all her life. Lauren Reed was a backstabbing, two-faced snobby bitch who just so happened to see you as a means to an end. What's funny is that you apparently were so willing to ignore that Lauren would betray her own father if she had the chance...which she did, actually. She would have turned on you too."

Sark then replies "And you seem to forget that Nadia is the daughter of not one evil criminal mastermind, but two evil criminal masterminds. You also forget that Nadia grew up as a thief on the streets in Argentina and had, oh what was it, 130 separate arrests? Or, am I too low on the number?"

Tom looks down and opens up Sark's file. "Look, we're not here to talk about the women in our lives, we're here to talk about..." Sark laughs at Tom's defiance. "Oh, quit being evasive! You know the kind of person Nadia is...do you think we ever change who we are?"

Tom looks back at Sark and folds his arms. "Knowing what I know about you, you've been an asshole all your life. So, maybe there's some validity to that statement." Sark slaps his hands on the table, even though they're handcuffed. "There we go! And of course, let's not forget about you. You have some skeletons in your closet, as well."

Tom then leans forward across the table, still seated. "Look, are we going to talk about Prophet Five, or are you just going to keep flapping your gums about shit that doesn't matter?" Sark leans back in his seat comfortably and says "I'm just making conversation. They don't believe in conversation in Bunker, Missouri?"

Tom turns away surprised. "You seem to know a lot about me..." Sark says "I know that you're The Caretaker...I know that you have this crazy devotion to Nadia that is partially aided by a Rambaldi artifact...and I know that you once went by a nickname in Mexico...oh what was it? Oh yes, Halcón Diablo. Catchy name, by the way. Now, I've heard of people proverbially cutting the legs off of criminal organizations...but you really took that phrase literally."

Tom then stands up and closes Sark's file. "Ok, when you're ready to talk, just shout into the camera. In the meantime, you can stay here as long as you like. I don't care." Sark just gives Tom a cocky smirk as he starts walking towards the door.

But, Tom reaches for the door handle, Sark says "You know, I remember when I first met Nadia." Tom freezes. He knows that he's being baited for some reason, and he shouldn't be hanging around here...but, he wants to hear what Sark has to say about Nadia. Tom looks back at him and says "Is that so?"

Sark smirks. "I had the pleasure of meeting her in Japan a few years ago..." Tom raises his eyebrows at that and steps away from the door and says "You're talking about the Rambaldi Fluid? You were there?"

Sark nods his head slowly. "Yes. With Lauren, as a matter of fact, but that's not important. I watched as Nadia's own father injected her with the fluid. In fact, I was the one that convinced him to keep the fluid flowing into her...even though it might have been detrimental to her health." Tom forms an angry scowl on his face, but says nothing.

Sark notices and smiles wide. "In fact, I remember what would happen to her when she was injected...the way her back would arch up in the air...the way she would struggle for air as her muscles contorted in pain...I have to admit, as I stood there watching the whole sad affair, I couldn't help but think that the whole display was actually rather..."

Tom, with rage starting to bubble up in him like molten lava, shakes his head and says "Don't say it..."

Sark then says it. "...erotic."

And at that point, the lava reaches the top of the volcano. Tom erupts and screams "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Tom tosses Sark's file away and charges at him. He flies in to Sark and tackles him out of his seat.

Tom, now perched on top of Sark on the ground, clinches his right fist and gives Sark a hard punch to the face. Tom then looks at his fist...the one with the titanium bones in it...and then looks back down Sark and sees that he's already drawn blood on his left cheek...

...and he wants more.

Tom rears back and punches Sark again...and again...and again...and again...

The punches keep flying in in quick succession. Over and over and over again. Each punch delivers more damage and blood than the last. Eventually, he gets to the point where he can start hearing the bones breaking in Sark's face from his fist. One punch to Sark's face breaks his nose from the side. Another punch crumples Sark's left orbital socket. Another takes a couple of Sark's molars out of his mouth. His punches have all the speed and effectiveness of a jackhammer.

All the while, no one is coming into the room to stop the attack.

Eventually, Tom slows down to the point where he finally stops. He stays leaning over Sark, out of breath from the punching and assessing the bloody and broken mess that is the left side of Sark's face.

Tom looks over to the right on the wall and sees a floor vent that sticks out a few inches out of the wall and a few inches off the ground. Suddenly, he gets an idea.

Tom gets up and flips Sark over on his belly. Then, he drags Sark by his blood-drenched white shirt and lifts his head up and sets it on the edge of the vent. Tom then forces Sark's mouth open and makes him bite down on the edge of the vent.

He then stands up and looks down at Sark. At this point, he's thinking whether what he's going to do is a good idea. But, Sark crossed a line that should never be crossed with him: making sexual jokes on the woman that, not even a week ago, he proposed to marry...and making those jokes while she's in a coma.

At that point, Tom stands next to Sark's head and quickly lifts his right leg up...his right foot hanging directly over Sark's head. He then slams his right foot on the back of Sark's head, completing the curb stomp.

Teeth go flying everywhere from the impact. An audible grunt is heard from Sark as he crumples to the floor. Sark rolls over and we see his face is not only a crimson mask, but he is also missing about 90% of his teeth.

Tom stands over Sark and actually smiles...happy to see he is still conscious...barely.

Tom gets down on his hands and knees and leans in so he's sinisterly whispers into his ear "Hey, you still in there, buddy?" Sark grunts a little bit, confirming that he's still at least somewhat conscious.

Tom smiles. "That's good. Do you know why I did what I did just now? Well, apparently you wanted me to. Because, if you knew anything about the man I am, you would know that I have a rather short fuse. And I just spent the past 4 days in a drunken stupor while I tried to figure out how to deal with the fact that the mother of my future children is lying in a coma and I can't do a thing about it. Now, I don't know why you decided to provoke me the way you did...only that you must have had a death wish."

Tom then leans in closer. "But, that's the beauty about what I just did. See, I don't want you dead. I want you to live. Why? Well, it's quite simple. See, you probably know about what I did in the Anti-Cartel...making people just WISH they were dead, only to keep them alive so they can send a message back to their people. Well, I have a message I'd like you to deliver for me, Sarky boy. See, I just destroyed something beautiful. And, when your friends see you, they'll know who they're dealing with. So, I want you to let all of your Rambaldi comrades know that I DEMAND that they use everything in their power to find a cure for Nadia. Because if they don't, then they'll be seeing me...just like you saw me."

At that point, the door to Interrogation Room 1 comes flying open and Jack and Dixon come running in. Tom stands up and holds his hands up. Jack looks down mortified at Sark, then back at Tom and asks "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

Tom says "Sark crossed the line. He had it coming." Jack replies "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO JUST INTERROGATE HIM!"

Tom looks back down at Sark's bloody and damaged face and says "He wasn't being a cooperative witness...and he went too far with the shit he said about Nadia." Jack continues to look at Tom astonished, as does Dixon. Finally, Jack says "Follow Dixon to Interrogation Room 2. I have to figure out how we're going to get Sark out of this highly secret facility without being noticed!"

Tom gives Jack a sinister look, then walks by him and follows Dixon out of the room.

* * *

><p>About 2 hours pass. Tom sits alone in Interrogation Room 2. He looks over to the right and sees a window into Interrogation Room 1. He looks over as someone cleans off the blood and teeth from the floor.<p>

Tom then looks back forward...and closes his eyes. He had only felt that way at one point of his life...the day Matt Aguero died. He promised himself that he'd never go back to that point, but he couldn't help it...Sark pushed him too far.

Suddenly, the door opens and Director Chase comes walking in with two other CIA officers. Tom opens his eyes and says "Ok, you must have seen the tape by now. I guess I have a suspension coming my..."

Chase doesn't give him a chance to finish. "Suspension? I saw the beating you gave to Sark! He came here on his own free will, unarmed and defenseless, with assurances of his safety! And, after talking to Sark before he was placed into a medical coma at the hospital just a few minutes ago, he tells me you intended to kill him with that curb stomp you gave him and you made further death threats when you were done!"

Tom looks at Chase shocked that she'd say that. "WHAT? Didn't you see the tape? Didn't you see what all he said before the attack?" Chase shakes his head. "There was a problem with the recording...all we got was the attack itself, nothing before or after. But quite frankly, your assault was all we needed."

Tom's eyes bug out and he looks away. "I can't freaking believe this..." Chase says "Well, you better believe it. I told you before you helped rescue Irina Derevko that you were hanging on here by a thread because of your past aggression! And guess what? That thread just broke. You're under arrest and you're being charged with attempted murder!"

Tom quickly jumps out of the seat and says "ATTEMPTED MURDER? I didn't want to kill him! I wanted him to pay for saying what he said about Nadia!" Chase shakes her head. "After all you've done in your CIA career, how am I supposed to believe anything you say? Now, you have the right to remain silent..."

Tom shakes his head as the cops start to handcuff him behind his back. Chase continues. "...anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law..." The cops stop cuffing Tom as he looks at Chase in disbelief over what's going on. Chase keeps going with the Miranda rights. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they've been read to you?"

Tom shakes his head. "Director, you know that this charge is outrageous..." Chase gets in Tom's face. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND THESE RIGHTS AS THEY'VE BEEN READ TO YOU?"

Tom looks at Chase with a look of seething anger and says "Yes." Chase then says "Take him away."

The cops force Tom to start walking. He walks out of the interrogation room and walks down the hallway.

He walks out to the office area of the APO office. He looks out at Jack, who looks upset at Tom. He looks at Dixon, who looks more surprised than angry. And then, he walks by Marshall's office and sees Marshall looking back at him in a look of shock.

Tom then is led down the main hallway of APO, flanked by the cops and Director Chase. As he approaches the door, he hangs his head and says "This isn't happening..."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	23. Ch 22: The New Guy

**THE NEW GUY**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal prison<strong>_

Tom stands next to a pay phone in his brand new prison garb: a short sleeve, button-up light blue shirt and long blue pants. The shirt has a couple of buttons open at the top, revealing a wifebeater underneath. On the back, we see the ID numbers "94387-014".

He's still in the processing area of the prison, having been allowed his daily phone call right off the bat. There's only one person he can think of to call.

On the phone, Tom hears the operator say "What is the number you would like to call?" Tom, in about as down and depressed of a voice as you can get, says "410-555-3754".

The operator then asks "And your name?" Tom blankly replies "Tom Falk." The operator then say "Please hold."

Tom then hears dial tones. He looks around and sees other prisoners getting processed into prison. What they did to get here...who knows. But, Tom guesses that they didn't bash in the face of a career criminal at a top-secret facility like he did earlier in the day.

Finally, Tom hears a "Hello?" The operator says "You have a collect call from Tom Falk. Do you accept the charges?" The man, now very surprised, says "Yes..." The operator says "Thank you. Go ahead, Tom."

Tom immediately says "Mike, I need your help." Mike, noticeably confused, says "Tom, why are you calling me collect?"

Tom lets out a deep sigh and looks down at the floor. "I'm in prison." Mike suddenly says "WHAT? Why? What happened?"

Tom, still looking down, says "Do you want the long story or the short one?" After some silence, Mike says "What's the short story?"

Tom blankly says "I destroyed something beautiful." After more silence, Mike says "Ok, what's the long story?"

Tom looks around and sees his conversation is anything but private. He says "Without getting into great detail, I've been charged with attempted murder. A man decided to insult Nadia today and I beat him into a coma." Mike lets out a surprised chuckle and says "And they say you tried to kill him?"

Tom chuckles and says "Yes, that's what they're charging me with, but it's not true. I was just wanting to defend Nadia's honor. But, Director Chase wants to throw everything including the kitchen sink at me over this. The chickens have come home to roost when it comes to my past sins." Mike then says "Are they charging you with..."

Tom cuts him off quickly. "No, she can't charge me with anything from the Aguero rampage because the statute of limitations has long passed, and Hayes was technically dead already. But, she's holding everything I've done against me. On the way here, I was informed that I'm facing 5 to 10 years in this shithole. I'm guessing Chase wants to give me closer to 10 than 5." Mike lets out a very audible sigh and says "Do you have an attorney?"

Tom says "No, and that's where I need your help. I've always had the benefit of the CIA backing me, but now, they're my opponent. I was wondering if you knew anyone that would take on my case." Mike thinks for a bit, then says "I might have someone in mind, but I won't name names because I don't want to get your hopes up. This guy has a major bone to pick with the CIA and would love nothing more than to get you sprung from this bullshit charge. I just have to make sure he's available."

Tom smirks. "Well, the sooner he can get here, the better." Mike quickly replies "He's still in LA, so you could see him very soon."

Tom, a little relieved now, says "Good. And yes, I'm going to try to beat this thing. There's no way this charge holds. I'm going to fight this thing as long as it takes." Mike says "It can't hurt...I mean, with the time you're looking at, might as well fight this thing out and build up some time served."

Tom says "Exactly..." Tom then looks up at the ceiling and sighs. "I never thought I'd say this, but I should have just kept drinking..." Mike cuts him off. "If you had kept going down the path you were going, you know things would have ended badly."

Tom lets out a sarcastic chuckle and says "Oh, and things are going just great now!" Mike says "You know what I mean. You would have been in your own alcoholic prison that you might not have been able to get out of. Anyway, I'll get right to work on your attorney. Anything else you need?"

Tom thinks and says "Well, it'd be nice if someone checked up on my apartment from a time to time, but you're too far away, don't worry about it." Mike then says "No, I can fly out..."

Tom cuts him off. "Don't worry about it! Anyway, thanks for helping out with the attorney..." Tom then is cut off by a prison guard standing to the left of him. Tom notices and says "...I think I have to go to my cell now. I'll stay in touch. Strength and honor."

Mike replies "Strength and honor, man. Good luck." Then, Mike hangs up the phone. Tom hangs up the phone as well and looks at the guard, who hands Tom a rolled up blanket and says "Follow me."

* * *

><p>Tom is escorted down a dingy cell block. To his left is a tall, gray wall with windows only at the very top. To his right are the prison cells, with all sorts of unsavory folk inhabiting them.<p>

As Tom walks down the hallway, holding his blanket under his right arm, he can't help but still be astonished that he has found himself in this pickle.

Just a week ago, he was learning his role in Rambaldi's prophecy...a role that never really got fulfilled at all because Sydney lived and Nadia isn't dead. No warpath against Nadia's killer, no protecting Nadia from any dark aftermaths, and no ultimate prophecy, whatever that was...

Suddenly, Tom's thoughts are stopped as he's forced to stop suddenly in front of a prison cell. He turns right as the guard yells into the cell "UP AGAINST THE WALL!" A short, lanky black man hops down from the top bunk and stands up and leans up against his hands on the back wall.

The cell door slides open and the guard says "This is your cell. Get in." Tom looks at the guard, then into the cell and slowly strolls towards the open cell door.

He's then given a forceful nudge into the cell...the guard apparently not having much patience.

Tom turns and gives the guard an angry look as the cell door slams shut. The guard says "Put your hands through the bars." Tom obliges and the guard takes off Tom's handcuffs, then nonchalantly walks back down the cell block.

Tom keeps looking at the guard as he walks away, and then forward at the blank, gray wall directly across the hallway. He then shakes his head in disbelief that he's in this predicament.

He then turns and tosses his gray blanket on the bottom bunk and sits down. He looks left at his cellmate, and then over at the toilet and sink that the man is standing next to.

The cellmate asks in a surprisingly deep voice for a man his size "What's your name, man?" Tom, still studying his surroundings, asks "What's yours?"

The man says "The name's Terrell." Tom looks at Terrell and says "I'm Tom."

Then, Tom starts studying Terrell. He's wearing the same kind of prison garb that he is. He also sees that Terrell has a tattoo of a cross on his right forearm. Terrell looks like he's in his mid to late 20s, with a notable knife scar that runs down from his right eye. His black hair is buzzed very short.

Terrell gives Tom a smirk and says "Man, looks like you're going to be here for a while!" Tom looks at him strangely and asks "Why do you say that?"

Terrell leans back against the wall and says "Well, this is B Block...people that are in B Block are here for 5 to 15 years. Plus, judging by your long face, looks like you're not looking forward to your stay." Tom looks back out the right at the gray wall outside the cell and says "Can you really blame me?"

Terrell laughs a bit and says "No, man, not at all. So, what they got you for?" Tom turns back to Terrell and sarcastically says "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

Terrell looks at Tom funny and says "Ah, you're one of THOSE guys. I bet you know a lot about a little...or is it a little about a lot? I always forget how that goes..." Tom looks aggravated now. "I know that you're starting to irritate me with your questions, Terrell."

Terrell laughs a bit, then says "Come on man! We're in this cell together. We gotta communicate...helps the days go by quicker. Besides, I've been here a little while, so you gonna need my help when it comes to the lay of the land around here."

Tom nods his head, but doesn't say anything as he stands up and unrolls his blanket. As he's laying out his blanket, he asks "So, when's dinner?" Terrell says "Oh, here in a little while. Tonight is sloppy joe night!"

Tom then turns and looks at him strangely. "If you get excited about sloppy joes, the food here must really suck." Terrell laughs out loud and claps his hands. "Hey, you're a quick learner! Sloppy joes are about the only good thing for dinner here!"

Tom rolls his eyes, then goes back to preparing his blanket.

* * *

><p>A little later, Tom and Terrell walk out of the kitchen line, carrying trays of sloppy joes, mashed potatoes, corn, and a carton of milk. Tom looks down at his food and shakes his head. "I feel like I'm back in high school."<p>

Terrell laughs and says "Well, you'll find that the way things work around here work a lot like high school...everything is done at a certain time, every time...and of course, you have your cliques..." Terrell points out to the back right corner of the cafeteria. "Those Latino esses over there are the main clique in B Block. If you're Latino, you band together no matter what affiliation you have. If you need protection, those are the guys..."

Tom shakes his head and cuts him off. "No, I might need protection FROM them, actually." Terrell looks at Tom funny. "Why?"

Tom turns to Terrell and and blankly replies "I have problems with Latinos." Terrell, keeping his funny look, says "What, you some sort of racist?"

Tom chuckles and says "Well, I'm talking to YOU, aren't I?" Terrell laughs and says "True, true! So, you had some bad dealings with Latinos before?"

Tom blankly replies "You could say that." Terrell then points out to the back left of the room. "Those big, biker dudes are from the Brothers of Bloodshed. They're all in here for weapons trafficking...apparently, they were running guns for the Real IRA from their Northern California headquarters. They might be an option if you're looking for protection, but they're outnumbered at least 3 to 1 by the Latinos."

Tom shrugs as he sits down next to Terrell at a cafeteria table. "Well, they don't seem like the types that like to get messed around with. Maybe I can work something out with them." Terrell says "Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do..."

Then, as Tom grabs his sloppy joe, he hears someone from the left end of the table yell at him "Hey! You gonna eat that?" Tom looks left at this HUGE white man with tattoos all over his arms, shaved bald head, and just a bad attitude in general. It's clear that this man is the resident bully of the prison.

Tom isn't phased, though. He looks over at Terrell and asks "Is this guy talking to me?" Before Terrell can answer, the man slams his fist on the table hard and says "Yes, I'm talking to you! You're going to give me that sandwich!"

Tom looks back over at the man with a cocky smirk. "Nah, I think I'm going to eat it." Terrell, through the corner of his mouth, says "That's not wise...Hank doesn't like when you hold out on him..."

Hank yells out "Are you going to make me come over there?" Tom turns to the sandwich and calmly says "I'm not making you do anything. If you want to come over here, be my guest."

Hank looks confused at Tom's defiance. In fact, the other 7 prisoners at the table, including Terrell, look surprised at this average-sized man standing up to the big Hank.

Finally, Hank slams his hands down hard on the table and uses his hands to lift himself up. "THAT'S IT, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" Tom shakes his head with a smile and says "Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that..."

Tom casually drops his sandwich and then stands up and stands out in the open path between cafeteria tables, waiting for Hank to come. He has the whole attention of the cafeteria now, and this fact makes him happy. _"Time for the show to begin" _he thinks as Hank starts to make his way over to him.

Hank comes storming around the table. Tom shifts his weight so his left leg stands a little out ahead of his right. Hank keeps coming at him and looks like he's ready to rip Tom's head off.

Tom doesn't look the least bit intimidated as he holds up his right hand to his mouth and kisses it the inside of it casually.

And then, when Hank gets close enough, Tom lands a CRUSHING haymaker to Hank's left jaw with his right fist...the fist with the titanium bones from Project Alloy.

Hank drops to the ground in a heap. Blood trickles out of the left side of his mouth, and we see a couple teeth are now gone as Hank lies there with his mouth wide open. His eyes are closed and his right leg is also still twitching somewhat from being knocked out.

Tom stands over Hank and looks at what he's done, then he looks out at the cafeteria and sees that some prisoners are roaring out of shock or approval while others just stand there in stunned silence, perhaps thinking they just witnessed David vs Goliath 2.0.

Tom then walks past Hank while some prisoners hover over him now, trying to revive him. Tom confidently walks out to an open area in the middle of the cafeteria and starts addressing the prison population. "Let's get one thing straight right here and now! I'm not locked in here with you! You're locked in here with me! So, let's get some ground rules covered while I have your attention! I will give each and every one of you respect if I get it in return! You give me my space, I'll give you yours! Otherwise, live and let live! Now, do we understand each other?"

The rest of the prisoners keep looking at him in stunned silence...some of them have an understanding look on their face. The Latino group in the back right looks at him a little menacing. Meanwhile, the bikers from Brothers of Bloodshed look impressed.

And then, all of the sudden, someone starts clapping.

Tom turns around and looks up at the walkway above the cafeteria and finds Arvin Sloane standing there, giving Tom a round of applause. Sloane, with a cocky smirk, says "That was a rousing speech, Tom. I'm inspired."

Tom keeps glaring at Sloane angrily. The glare is returned by Sloane's cocky glare for a few seconds.

Finally, Tom points at Sloane, and then he moves his right hand to the left side of the throat and slowly makes the throat-slash gesture...reaffirming his Sovogda promise to Sloane.

Sloane's smirk disappears as he's finally ushered away by a guard. Meanwhile, a couple of guards finally approach Tom. One of them says "Get back to your seat!" Tom smirks and says "As you wish."

Tom then slowly walks back to his seat next to Terrell as Hank is put on a gurney and wheeled away.

Tom sits down while the rest of the table scoots away from him a bit out of fear and/or respect.

Tom notices this and forms another confident smirk on his face. Terrell notices and says "Damn, with one punch, you went from the new guy to the alpha male!"

Tom looks over at Terrell and says "Hey, you have to establish your dominance right off the bat, and thank goodness Hank was willing to test my right hook." Terrell then asks "So what, your hand made of iron or something?"

Tom looks down at his right hand and starts laughing at the irony of Terrell's question. He then looks back at Terrell and says "Something like that."

Terrell then asks "Who was that guy that was clapping at you? Someone you know?" Tom looks down and says "That's the man that helped put my fiancee in a coma."

Terrell winces and says "Damn! Who is he?" Tom looks at Terrell and blankly says "Her father."

Tom then turns and takes the first bite of his sloppy joe and quickly forms a repulsed look on his face. He looks out at the entrance to the cafeteria to see Hank getting wheeled out of the room.

Then, he looks at Terrell with that same look of repulsion and says "I just KO'ed a man for THIS? I thought you said these were decent!" Terrell laughs and says "They are...well, when you get used to them!"

Tom then sets his sandwich down and drinks his milk...probably the only thing decent on his tray.

Then, he's approached by a guard. "Prisoner Falk..." Tom turns and says "Hey, that thing with Hank was self-defense..."

The guard cuts him off by saying "Your attorney is here. Finish up and follow me when you're done." The guard remains standing there as Tom turns back to his food and wonders if Mike came through for him.

* * *

><p>Tom is escorted down a hallway of private meeting rooms by a prison guard. Finally, he stops at one of the doors and the prison guard opens the door.<p>

Tom turns and looks shocked when he sees who's waiting for him inside the room. The prison guard takes off his handcuffs and says "Get in. Bang on the door when you're done."

Tom walks in the door and looks at the man...a Latino man in his late 40s who still has most of his black hair and stands a few inches taller than Tom. (_Note: A perfect visual reference would be Benito Martinez, who played David Aceveda in 'The Shield')_

Tom walks up to the table and says "Eduardo Munoz! My old Anti-Cartel director is who Mike set me up with as my attorney?" Eduardo smiles and reaches his hand out for a handshake. "Yes! I'm back from the dead! Good to see you."

Tom shakes his hand, and then sits across from Eduardo. "Likewise! I had no idea that you were an attorney!" Eduardo chuckles as he sits down and says "Well, I decided to dust off my law license and go into private practice. Remember, I was a CIA prosecutor before I founded the Anti-Cartel. And then, I was kicked out in 1997 and I had to do something with my time, so here I am."

Tom chuckles and shakes his head. "Yeah, I remember when all that went down. I was pissed when they got rid of you, I always respected you. You got me in the door, after all." Eduardo nods understandingly and says "Well, the CIA never really liked the way I was teaching agents to act in the field. We weren't your typical cloak-and-dagger division, and the CIA didn't like that. Plus, their problems with me were punctuated when you went on your rampage after Matt Aguero died."

Tom looks down. "Speaking of which, it would seem that the CIA is holding my history against me." Eduardo looks confused. "You've only been charged with the attempted murder of Julian Sark..."

Tom looks back up and says "Director Chase told me last week that she had done some digging into my past and made the determination that she was going to fry my ass on an iron skillet if I even had the tiniest of slip-ups. She's holding my post-Aguero rampage and the murder of your former golden boy Mitch Hayes against me..." Eduardo cuts him off. "I noticed in your record that you admitted to killing Mitch a couple weeks ago, but his official date of death is June 6, 2003. What happened there?"

Tom sighs and says "Mitch joined me in Dark Cover in 2001 and he turned into a Covenant rat because of his jealousy towards me. I had passed him up on the CIA pecking order and he wanted my job. Anyway, I thought he died in the infamous Torino mission in my record, but his body was doubled. He met me out at the Santa Monica Pier a couple weeks ago and wanted me to do a job for the Covenant in exchange for the Rambaldi document on me..." Eduardo laughs and says "Yeah, when I got your file earlier today and studied it, that Rambaldi part surprised me. In fact, when I read on your post Anti-Cartel record...it was like I was reading a bio on a completely different person. Project Alloy, the Rambaldi document, your role in the prophecy...I was stunned."

Tom smirks and says "Well, it was as much of a surprise to me as it was you. Unfortunately, that prophecy has helped put my fiancee in a coma." Eduardo nods and looks down at the file. "Yes, and I was sorry to hear that. I read about your 'connection' to Nadia Santos. Quite the story you two have there."

Tom smiles and says "She's the center my world revolves around. I was messed up for a while after the Torino mission and she set me right." Eduardo chuckles and says "I remember when I recruited you that you were adamant about keeping your relationship with Kate...I warned you about women getting you in trouble..."

Tom cuts him off and leans forward. "And the reason I put Julian Sark into a coma was because he said some things about Nadia that I hope never, ever get repeated." Eduardo shakes his head and says "Unfortunately, the CIA claims the tape was corrupted and they only have the actual assault on record."

Tom leans back and sighs. "A man named Gordon Dean with the Office of Special Investigations was supposedly in charge of reviewing my interrogation. He was in charge of the recording and he must have sabotaged it somehow. I wonder if Director Chase is behind this..." Eduardo replies "I don't think that's the case, but you are right to suspect Gordon Dean...it would seem that he was a double agent."

Tom slams his hand on the table quickly. "WHAT?" Eduardo says "I met with Director Chase and the prosecution team before I came here. The CIA is not sure who he's working for, but he disappeared from APO after he alerted Jack Bristow about your attack on Mr. Sark. Apparently, Mr. Bristow was already unsure about him before today's events."

Tom looks down and shakes his head in disbelief. "I knew this was a screwjob...so, we can use this to our benefit, right?" Eduardo shakes his head. "I don't think so. Despite Dean's disappearance, they do have you, on video, assaulting Julian Sark..."

Tom cuts Eduardo off. "There's the keyword right there!" Eduardo looks at him funny and says "What did I say?" Tom replies "Assault! They're charging me with attempted murder, but I didn't intend to kill Sark! What I did was aggravated assault! This charge can't stick!"

Eduardo thinks for a bit, then says "You mentioned Sark said some things about Nadia..." Tom nods his head. "Yes! He baited me into attacking him! Now, why he would do that, I have no earthly idea...oh no..."

Tom then buries his head in his hand. Eduardo asks "What is it?" Tom replies "After the Sovogda mission, APO was crippled in man-power. I was on leave and binge-drinking my liver away, Nadia is in a coma, Vaughn turned out to be a double agent, Dixon is still recovering from a recent gunshot and Sydney is just now starting to get back into the swing of things. Someone wanted to take me out of the equation to further cripple APO! Someone knew that I was on the outs with Director Chase and exploited that! So, they MUST have sent Sark to provoke me to do something like this!"

Eduardo nods, then says "Even so, without any video prior to the beating, I'm going to have a hard time using your argument that you were provoked. We could try to get Sark to change his testimony, but he's in a medical coma, and probably will be for some time."

Tom leans back and sighs, then says "How is Sark doing, by the way?" Eduardo says "Well, let me run down the list..." Eduardo flips up a page and starts reading off of it. "...fractured left orbital bone, multiple skull fractures, bleeding on the brain, broken nose, broken left jaw, 18 teeth shattered, and 64 stitches to close up all of the lacerations you caused. Doctors believe that he's going to make it, but they do suspect you caused some brain damage. Time will tell what all was affected."

Tom sarcastically asks "Is that all?" Eduardo looks up at Tom shocked. "They're also pissed that you did all of this at a facility that is not supposed to be ever found, and that you did this to a man that was a protected witness...albeit a criminal witness. And you throw in Director Chase's bias against you, the damning video evidence, and Sark's inability to speak because of his coma...and you've got me up against a wall here."

Tom looks down at the table and says "And yet, you still agreed to represent me." Eduardo takes a deep breath and says "You were one of my first recruits in the Anti-Cartel, and your stock rose very fast because you were one heck of an agent. The first thing I said to you on your first day was that I always stand behind my agents...and that hasn't changed."

Tom smirks and says "I appreciate that." Tom's smile erases as he then gets an idea. "Listen, what if I offered to resign from the CIA? Would Director Chase be willing to let me off the hook if I did that?" Eduardo immediately responds "No way. In fact, that was the one thing Director Chase was adamant about during our meeting today. She doesn't want you to work for the CIA ever again, and will move to have you barred from the CIA in addition to your conviction. But, she does seem very interested in making sure you suffer."

Tom shakes his head slowly, then sighs. "So, what do we do?" Eduardo then leans forward. "You say you committed aggravated assault, the CIA says it's attempted murder. Now, if certain elements were able to work out in our favor, then I might be able to argue aggravated assault, but it's not going to take overnight."

Tom smiles and says "I know. But, you know as well as I do that, if I build up enough time served here, I can be convicted of aggravated assault and be released the very day I'm sentenced. And since my fiancee is in a coma, I'm not doing anything for a while anyway. And if I lose my job because of this...so be it. I've just about had enough of the CIA anyway. I would really appreciate it if you stood by me and fought this thing to the bitter end." Eduardo smirks and says "Of course. But, I heard that you already punched out an inmate. You're going to have to stop that...part of being released on time served is based on good behavior."

Tom chuckles and says "Well, you know what they say about being in prison...gotta establish that you're not the prison bitch early on. Besides, Hank was going to attack ME. It was self-defense and I have a few hundred witnesses." Tom then looks away like he just realized something. "Hey, Eduardo...do you have a copy of that video?" Eduardo says "Yes, of course, why?"

Tom looks back at him and says "My op-tech from Dark Cover is named David Marston, he's based out of Baltimore. You say that the part of the video before the assault was corrupted somehow...I bet you both of my kidneys that David could un-corrupt that part. He's amazing with computers." Eduardo then asks "Is he still affiliated with the CIA?"

Tom nods. "Yes, he's a freelancer, along with Mike." Eduardo then shakes his head. "I can't task someone currently employed by the CIA to do that while the CIA itself is trying to sentence you to 5 to 10 years in prison!"

Tom sighs and looks down. Eduardo then says "Look, I'll see what I can do with it. In the meantime, you need to sign this..." Eduardo reaches under the file and slides a piece of paper and a pen to Tom.

Tom asks "What's this?" Eduardo says "That is your plea of 'not guilty' to attempted murder."

Tom quickly signs the page and slides it back to Eduardo. Then, Eduardo slides another sheet of paper at Tom. "This is a power of attorney form. If you want, I can manage your finances and personal business while you're in prison. When you're released, the agreement is null and void."

Tom smirks and says "I trust you, Eduardo." Tom then signs the form and slides it back to Eduardo, who stuffs it into a file in his briefcase along with his other papers.

Tom stands up and says "Well, I guess this is where we part ways..." Eduardo shakes his head and says "One other thing..."

Tom sits down and says "What is it?" Eduardo says "I'm going to put in a request to have you transferred into protective custody."

Tom looks surprised and says "No! I'm not going into solitary confinement! I'll crack!" Eduardo says "I've looked at the roster of prisoners here, and some of them have connections to Mexican cartels that you've dealt with in the past. It'd be for your safety."

Tom shakes his head. "You might as well fit me for a straightjacket if you put me in solitary! Surviving in B Block will help keep my mind off the fact that the love of my life lies in a coma, and that I couldn't protect her from that despite all my promises to her. This time yesterday, I was concluding a 4 day bender over that very fact! I have to keep my mind active!" Eduardo sighs and says "Fine. But, if something happens to you, I'm going to have no choice but to put the request in."

Just as he says that, a prison guard opens up the door. "You have another visitor!" Tom looks confused as Eduardo stands up. "I guess I should be going. Take care, Tom." Tom looks back at Eduardo and says "Thanks for agreeing to represent me."

Eduardo smirks and says "After what the CIA did to me, nothing would make me happier than to see you win. Let's beat this charge." Tom laughs and shakes Eduardo's hand. "Damn right. Thanks again."

Eduardo then walks out of the room...and then, Sydney Bristow walks in in his stead.

Tom closes his eyes and looks up at the ceiling dismayed at the sight of her. As he does, Sydney walks past Tom and sits down across from him.

Tom then opens his eyes and looks at her with a look of despondency. "So, you're here to formally toss me out with the garbage?" Sydney looks down and looks VERY sad and depressed. Tom notices and asks "What, does the sight of me in prison gear depress you?"

Suddenly, Sydney starts crying. Tom now looks very concerned and asks "Ok, I give up. What is it?" Sydney looks up to Tom and says "Vaughn was murdered today."

Tom's mouth goes agape and he sits down quickly. He asks "What happened to him?" Sydney, in between sniffles, says "Gordon Dean shot and killed him..."

Tom slams his hand down HARD on the table, which causes Sydney to stop her crying and look at him surprised. Tom yells "THAT PIECE OF RAT SHIT!" Sydney then asks "What?"

Tom looks at her and says "Gordon Dean was supposed to observe my interrogation of Julian Sark, and he just disappeared like a ghost! He must have left APO to go kill Vaughn! And before he left, he must have corrupted my video! I was provoked, and that part was cut out!" Sydney now looks surprised herself and says "That does make sense..."

Tom then slinks into his seat and shakes his head in disbelief. "This is so crazy..." Sydney, still downtrodden over Vaughn, says "Tom, the main reason I came here is so we can talk about what happened a few days ago. We really haven't had a chance to talk things out."

Tom looks at her with an irritated look. "Here's what happened: In Sovogda, Vaughn prevented me from saving Nadia, Nadia gets infected, tried to kill you, and then Sloane shot her before I could get her off of you. And then, this thing in my blood that's supposed to heal her doesn't work, and now, Vaughn's dead, Nadia lies in a coma, I'm in prison for defending her honor from a sick pervert named Julian Sark, and we're here having this conversation. Does that cover everything?"

Sydney sighs and says "I wanted to talk more about what you said to me in the hospital before you stormed out." Tom looks at her blankly and says "Look, I'm sorry you lost the man you were going to marry..."

Sydney then says "It's not just that..." Then, Sydney looks down as tears start to form on her face again. Tom says "What is it?"

Sydney sobs for a bit, and then takes a deep breath and says "I'm pregnant. Vaughn is the father." Tom gets another shocked look on his face, but doesn't say anything...he can't really find the words at the moment.

Sydney then looks back up and says "Tom, what you said in the hospital really hurt me. I get this feeling that you hate me because of Vaughn and..." Sydney goes back to crying again as Tom waits for Sydney to continue.

Sydney finally stops long enough to continue. "...and now, Vaughn is dead and Nadia is in a coma...two of the three best friends I have are gone, all within the span of a few days! So, I'm here because you're literally the only friend I have left, and I don't want to lose you!"

Sydney then buries her head in her hands and resumes grieving. Tom looks at Sydney as she's sobbing and looks morose over what he's seeing. He's never seen her this emotional before...in fact, Sydney is one of the most emotionally-centered people he knows.

Tom then turns away and starts thinking...

"_Why do I hate Vaughn? On one hand, Vaughn prevented me from jumping off the subway car to protect Nadia, along with the other times he got in my way. On the other hand...maybe Vaughn was just trying to protect me and didn't mean any harm. Oh well, he's dead now, so that's that." _Tom looks back at a crying Sydney, then back down._ "Ok, so why am I so angry at Sydney? She's never done me wrong...well, except for that thing on Nadia's birthday, but that's long been water under the bridge. I guess because of the difference of opinion over Sloane and Vaughn's role in Nadia's current fate...but am I going to let a difference of opinion ruin a good friendship?_"

Tom looks back up at Sydney. Sydney has since dropped her left hand to the table and is holding her forehead up with her right hand as she continues to weep.

A look of sadness and concern forms over Tom's face, seeing Sydney like this. He can't help but feel bad for her.

Suddenly, Tom leans forward and, with his right hand, gently grabs Sydney's left hand. Sydney notices and stops crying.

She looks back at Tom as he says sincerely "Sydney, I don't hate you. You've been a good friend to me since I joined APO, and you've always treated your sister well, and that means a lot to me. And the fact that you're here while I'm at one of the lowest points of my life and you're still willing to be my friend after what I said to you a few days ago...that does mean a lot to me as well. Sydney, I'm so sorry about what has happened to you. But listen...I'm still your friend, and thank you for still wanting to be my friend."

Sydney slowly allows a smile to form on her face and says "Thank you so much for saying that. And I do think you're innocent in all of this. Dad's not so convinced, but he's also upset over other things that are going on too." Tom leans back and shakes his head. "I'll admit that a crime took place at APO today. But, what I did was aggravated assault and not attempted murder. Big difference."

Sydney wipes away some of her tears and says "I know. I wish there was something I could do to help you there. Look, if there's anything you need for me to take care of for you while you're here, please let me know." Tom thinks for a bit, then says "Is it possible that you could arrange for me to see Nadia? I want to be there for her while she's in her coma, and I know I won't get to see her every day, but would once a week be too much to ask?"

Sydney shakes her head and smiles. "No. I can work that out. We'll go together, that way you're under the supervision of a CIA official...who just so happens to be a friend." Tom smiles and says "Thanks...oh, by the way, Sloane's apparently in this prison, too. I got to see him tonight at dinner."

Sydney looks at Tom funny. "Really? He's supposed to be in solitary confinement..." Tom shrugs. "We spotted each other while I was in the cafeteria and he was walking down a walkway. Believe me...we noticed each other."

However, just as Sydney goes to respond, a prison guard opens the door and says "Visiting time is over!" Tom looks back at the guard, then stands up and looks back at Sydney. "I really do appreciate you stopping by, and I really do feel bad about what happened to you. Please, don't hesitate to visit me if you ever need someone to talk to."

Sydney smiles as she walks around the table and gives Tom a hug. However, the guard says "Hey, you can't do that!" Sydney then quickly releases the hug and says "Sorry!"

Sydney then looks back at Tom and says "You saved my life in Cuba a few months ago, and I've never forgotten that. Plus, you've been so good to my sister. I'll still stand by you, it's the least I can do. I have Nadia's keys, so I can check your mail for you and keep an eye on your apartment if you want."

Tom rolls his eyes. "Sydney, I'm going to warn you...when you open the apartment door, you're going to see and smell a mess inside. I went through a rough time the past few days..." Sydney nods and says "Say no more. I'll clean it up, don't worry about it."

Sydney then walks towards the door, and then stops an turns back at Tom and says "I'll see you again in a few days. We'll go see Nadia." Tom smiles and says "Goodbye, Sydney. Thanks for helping me."

Sydney smiles, and then walks away as the prison guard walks back into the room to escort Tom back to his cell.

As he walks down the cell block, he finds himself smiling that he still has Sydney in his corner. In fact, he's relieved to know that he has Eduardo and Mike still in his corner as well. All of his life, he valued the friends closest to him...

...and now, he needed them more than ever.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	24. Ch 23: A Delicate Situation

**A DELICATE SITUATION**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal prison<strong>_

Tom sits in the private meeting room, patiently awaiting his visitor. They never tell him who is coming to see him, only that he has a visitor.

His attorney, Eduardo Munoz, has been seeing him every other day to keep him apprised of what's going on.

He also calls his Storm Crew friends, Mike and David, with the daily calls that he's allowed. He has yet to call his sister Karen, mostly because he hasn't figured out a way to explain why he's in prison without giving too much away. And that is not a conversation he's looking forward to.

It's been five days since he snapped in the APO interrogation room. Since then, he finds himself wondering what's going on at APO. And just as quickly as he wonders, he loses interest because he's convinced himself that he's never going back there, no matter what happens with his case. There's just too many bad memories.

Speaking of bad memories, during his time in prison, he forgets at times that he was a part of a potentially apocalyptic prophecy, which suits him just fine. The prophecy had dominated his thoughts of late and was almost driving him mad.

Suddenly, the door opens and Sydney comes into the room, holding a grocery bag in her right hand. Tom smiles at the sight of a friend coming to see him...especially one that's apparently chosen to give him another chance.

Sydney, smiling herself, says "Hey, how's it going?" Tom chuckles and says "I have to admit, I'd rather be in San Felipe right now."

Sydney laughs a bit and says "Wouldn't we all? Remember, my post-Sovogda trip got blown, too." Tom sighs and says "I know. Anyway, how was Vaughn's funeral?"

Sydney gets a down look on her ace as she sets the bag on the table and sits down. "I really don't want to talk about it, if that's alright." Tom gives her an understanding nod and says "That's fine. Still, I can't get that off my mind..."

Sydney blankly asks "That Vaughn was a double agent?" Tom shakes his head. "No, that you lost the love of your life. I feel so bad for you, I really do."

Sydney shrugs and says "I'll manage. Anyway, I got your mail for you." Sydney reaches into the bag and grabs a handful of letters and magazines. Tom notices the magazines and says "Ah, yes! Believe it or not, those magazines are like currency in prison!"

Sydney laughs and says "Well, don't spend them all in one place!" Tom chuckles as he grabs his mail and starts looking through his letters. As he does, Sydney grabs two plastic bowls and slides one over to Tom. Tom notices and asks "What's this?"

Sydney smiles and says "Well, I figured the food here's not very good, and I remember you always liked my dad's spaghetti..." Tom beams out of excitement. "You brought me spaghetti? Oh, you're the best! Well, besides Nadia of course! Don't take that the wrong way..."

Sydney laughs a bit and says "Of course not. And, you're welcome." Tom looks across the table at the other bowl. "Oh, they won't let me take food back with me..."

Sydney tosses Tom a spork and keeps one for herself. "I just thought you'd like to eat lunch with your future sister-in-law before you went and saw Nadia." Tom sets down his mail and shakes his head somewhat astonished. "Sydney, you're going above and beyond here..."

Sydney opens up her bowl and says "Hey, don't worry about it! Now, let's eat while it's still warm." Tom opens up his bowl and digs in right away. He takes a bite and, with a smile, says "Man, this is amazing. And you're right, the food here is some of the worst crap I've ever ate, so I really appreciate this."

Sydney smiles as she keeps eating. Tom takes another bite and looks through his letters. He grabs a couple out of the pile and tosses them back at Sydney. "You can keep Nadia's mail. If it's a bill, pay it, I'll make sure you're reimbursed when I'm out of here. Unfortunately, I can't pay Nadia's bills through Eduardo's power of attorney over me."

Sydney nods as she takes the mail and puts it back in the bag. She then asks "There's been something I've been meaning to ask you since you got here." Tom takes another bite of spaghetti and, when he finishes chewing, says "What's up?"

Sydney asks "Just what did Julian Sark say about Nadia?" Tom holds up his hand and shakes his head. "No, I'm not repeating that here. It still sickens me."

Sydney says "Tom, it's ok. You can tell me. Besides, I know Sark about as well as anyone at APO and Jack's still not convinced that you were provoked at all." Tom chews on another bite of spaghetti as he ponders if he wants to tell Sydney what Sark said.

Finally, he swallows and says "I'll tell you only if you promise to never, ever tell Nadia this after she recovers. She doesn't need to hear this." Sydney nods and says "I won't say anything, I promise."

Tom drops his spork and says "He told me that he was there in Japan when Sloane was injecting Nadia with the Rambaldi Fluid. That was news to me." Sydney looks surprised. "Really? I thought you knew..."

Tom shakes his head. "No matter. Anyway, he told me that he encouraged Sloane to keep the fluid flowing into her veins." Sydney nods. "Yes, we already knew that. What else?"

Tom takes a deep breath and says "He then started talking about watching her arch her back and struggle for air when she was being injected, and how the whole thing was erotic for him." Sydney immediately forms a repulsed look on her face and her jaw drops. "He said that?"

Tom nods his head. "I was paraphrasing a bit, but I swear on my life that he said the word 'erotic' to describe what he saw Nadia go through." Sydney turns away and shakes her head. "He's always been a little perverted, but..."

Tom cuts her off. "Has he always been so cavalier with his words around you?" Sydney thinks for a bit, then says "Somewhat, but he's usually more calculated than that. Your theory on him WANTING to get beat up to take you out of APO makes some sense, but it just doesn't fit him. I mean, why would he be so willing to get clobbered?"

Tom shrugs. "Maybe he expected a black eye at the most and got more than be bargained for? I mean, as I was pounding his face into mush, I was kind of wondering myself where the cavalry was. I just wonder how he would have known Director Chase wanted to shaft me...I thought that was just between me and her..." Sydney then says "That's another thing I wanted to ask you."

Tom looks at her a little curious. Sydney then asks "What did you do in the Anti-Cartel? I know you made mention that you had a hard existence there, but you must have done something really heinous to make her so hellbent against you."

Tom looks down and ponders whether he wants to tell her about the post-Matt Aguero rampage. He almost told Irina in the subway in Sovogda as he was still fuming from Nadia's near-mauling in the subway. But, he just can't do it.

Tom looks back up at Sydney and says "Me and Mike Walcott have made a vow to keep that part of our careers forever buried. All I will say is that I did some unspeakable things to some horrible people, and that is a big reason why I have some infamy in Latin America. You've heard me mention the name Matt Aguero before. The aftermath of his death is why Director Chase wants me to stay behind bars for as long as she can sentence me for. Let's make a deal: I won't mention Michael Vaughn ever again around you, and you don't mention Matt Aguero ever again around me. Both subjects are taboo from now on. Is that fair?"

Sydney sighs a bit and then says "That's fair. Now, let's finish our lunch. We need to go see Nadia still." Tom nods his head and goes back to his spaghetti.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nadia's hospital room<strong>_

Tom sits next to Nadia, holding her right hand while she lies peacefully. Sydney is next to Tom, and a prison guard stands watch outside of the hospital room. Tom is still in his prison outfit, but he's been allowed to have his handcuffs removed.

As he gently rubs Nadia's hand, he looks away from Nadia's face and down at the ground. He asks "Sydney, do you think your sister will ever forgive me?" Sydney looks a little surprised that he'd ask that and says "What do you mean? You did nothing wrong in Sovogda."

Still looking down, Tom says "After I came out of my coma three days after I was shot in the neck, Nadia lied on top of me in this very hospital, and I'll never forget the tears and the pain in her face when she BEGGED me to promise that I'd never leave her again and would always stand by her side. And in Sovogda, I broke that promise."

Sydney looks down and says "You're still talking about what Vaughn did..." Tom shakes his head. "When you broke down when you visited me in prison a few days ago, I realized that I couldn't stay mad at him. He did have the best of intentions in mind. In the end..._I_ was the one that let go of her when she was tackled. _I_ was the one that was more worried about saving my own ass to not notice Nadia wasn't running along side of me."

Sydney looks back at Tom and sincerely says "Tom, what happened happened, and I don't think you could have done anything to stop that. Rambaldi predicted what would happen..." Tom cuts her off a little irritated. "Well, he apparently got some things wrong. So, your whole theory on fate became bullcrap when Nadia was shot in the back by her own freaking father."

Sydney looks down and doesn't say anything. Tom notices and says "Look, I'm sorry for being so melodramatic, but when you're in prison, you don't have much else to do besides dwell on things."

Tom then looks over to the left and sees a photo in a frame on the table next to Nadia's bed. Tom picks up the photo and realizes it's Elena's photo of them in Buenos Aires after the Conquistadores mission in 2001. Tom looks at Sydney a little funny and says "What's this doing here? I had this at my desk at work."

Sydney sighs and says "We cleaned out your and Nadia's desks yesterday. We're still short-handed and we needed the space." Tom looks down and shakes his head. "So, Jack has no faith in me anymore."

Sydney shakes her head. "It's not that..." Tom looks back at her and says "You told me he was still upset with me over what happened to Sark. Well, you can let him know that, if Director Chase doesn't bar me from the CIA, that I'm putting in a request to go freelance."

Sydney looks a little disappointed and says "Tom, if you beat this, I'll make sure you're still welcome back at APO." Tom shakes his head slowly. "Sydney, I want to put everything I've had to endure for the past three years behind me. Torino, Project Alloy, Rambaldi, everything...and when Nadia recovers, I want us to live a normal life and have a family together...a normal family. Nadia's dreamed of having a normal family all her life. And it's been my lifelong dream to raise a child with the woman I love and not have to worry about leaving my kid constantly to go to some exotic place and risk my life on CIA business night in and night out. Freelancing will give me a lot of free time. It's not as lucrative, but I've lived a frugal life up to this point and I have a lot saved up. I'm moving on, Sydney."

Sydney, still a little disappointed, says "I understand. I brought the things from your desk and Nadia's to your apartment." Tom then opens up the back of the picture frame and takes out the picture. Tom looks at it closely, then back at Sydney. "I want to keep this picture with me. It's the only picture of Nadia I have, and her smile might help improve my mood."

Sydney shrugs. "It's your picture, you can do what you like with it." Tom then folds it up and tucks it in his front pocket. Sydney then asks "Speaking of Nadia's belongings, I'm going to be bringing the rest of Nadia's things over to your apartment."

Tom looks at her a little confused. "Why?" Sydney replies "I'm making her room into a nursery for my baby. Please don't think I'm kicking her out, you both are still more than welcome at my place when she recovers."

Tom nods his head understandingly. "No, that's cool. I was never a big fan of Nadia's bed at your place anyway and I have an airbed if we ever need to crash. I just wish I could help you move her things. In fact, you know me and Nadia would be there to help you through your pregnancy if we could. That's one of the reasons why it frustrates me so much that I'm in this situation." Sydney smiles and says "I know. But, don't worry about it. I'm getting by ok."

Tom looks down at Sydney's belly, which isn't showing much signs of pregnancy. "How are you feeling? I mean, I know you're not very far along and all, but..." With a smile, Sydney cuts Tom off and says "I'm ok. I'll keep working throughout the pregnancy."

Tom looks up and looks surprised at that. "Really? No, you should take some time off, for the baby's sake." Sydney intently says "I'll be fine. I won't be as active as I was, hopefully after we get some new people in at APO."

After she says that, the prison guard outside the door turns and says "It's 2 o'clock." Sydney looks at him and nods, then turns back to Tom. "We have to head back." Tom nods and gets up to his feet.

He leans over Nadia's bed and kisses her on the forehead. The guard storms in the room and yells "Hey, no contact..." Sydney then angrily cuts him off. "I'm in charge of his supervision here, stand down!" The guard eases off.

Tom, paying all of that no attention, looks at Nadia's closed eyes and says "I'll see you again soon, beautiful. Everything's going to be fine. I love you, and I only hope you still love me..."

With some fresh tears in his eyes as he says that, he gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek and turns away to follow Sydney and the prison guard out of the room.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal prison<strong>_

Later that day, we find Tom sitting alone on the bleachers in the prison yard. It's a nice, sunny day today, and a nice breeze somehow makes its way through the fences surrounding the prison and the hundreds of other prisoners milling about.

Tom pulls out the picture of him and Nadia in Argentina and looks at it for a while. He looks at Nadia's bright smile and can't help but smile himself. Her smile was always so infectious. Even when he was feeling down the past few months with all that's been going on, her smile always managed to perk him up a bit.

Just as he's starting to get lost in the picture, he jumps when he hears Terrell yell "Yo, Tom!" Tom quickly tucks the picture away and looks up to see Terrell walking up to him with a burly-looking older white man with a graying goatee on his face.

Terrell and the man take their seats next to Tom. Terrell says "This is Ron, he's the leader of the Brothers of Bloodshed. He might be able to help you with your protection problem." Tom gives Ron a headnod as he sits down next to him and says "Thanks for agreeing to chat."

In a gruff voice, Ron says "I understand you have problems with our Hispanic neighbors." Tom nods his head and says "My attorney tells me that some of them have ties to Mexican cartels that I've had bad dealings with in the past."

Ron looks at Tom a little funny and says "What, are you with the ATF? We won't help you if that's the case, they're the reason WE'RE in here." Tom shakes his head. "No, settle down, I'm not with that organization. I can't get into detail, but I was part of a group that would take the fight to the cartels in their own turf. Mexico was like a second home for me for a while there. Anyway, the division closed a couple years ago, and no, Californian biker gangs were never on our radar, so there's no conflict of interest here."

Ron appears to look satisfied and says "Well, we might be willing to give you protection and take care of your problem with the man in solitary..." Tom looks over at Terrell, surprised that Ron knew about that last part already. "What did you tell these guys?"

Terrell replies "I told him about that man that put your lady in a coma. Apparently, the Brothers can still get to him." Tom looks back over at Ron, who nods. "We have a lifer that's in solitary, and he frequently comes into contact with other solitary prisoners in the infirmary. If you do some things for us here, we can see that he's taken care of."

Tom looks away and thinks about this proposition. On one hand, he did give Sloane a stay of execution of sorts in Sovogda so he could possibly find a cure for Nadia. But, on the other hand, nothing would make him happier than to see Sloane lying in a pool of his own blood for all he's done to her.

Tom looks back at Ron and says "I'll think about your offer. In the meantime, what can I do for protection?" Ron thinks and says "There's a mutual associate of both us and Terrell that is holding out on some goods he promised us."

Tom asks "What kind of goods?" An irritated Ron says "That's none of your business."

Tom, not wanting to make an enemy of a biker gang, nods his head. "I understand. What do you need me to do?" Ron says "We need you to rough him up a little...remind him of his debt to the motorcycle club. You do that for us, and he comes through with what he promised us, we'll see that your back is protected while you're here."

Tom thinks about it for a bit, then looks over at Terrell. "Who's this associate of yours?" Terrell says "This paranoid white boy over there..." Terrell points over to the left at an average-sized white man leaning on the fence.

As Tom looks at him, Terrell says "That's Brandon, but everyone calls him Brand Name because he's can hook you up with certain luxuries from the outside." Ron then says "Brand Name agreed to fetch us some things a month back and he still hasn't come through. We think that he's getting cold feet."

Tom quickly asks "Does this man have a temper?" Terrell nods and says "Yeah, he gets downright nasty when you start talking about his momma. She was a prostitute in San Francisco before she died of cancer while he was locked up here. He took her death real hard, and still carries a chip on his shoulder over it."

Tom cracks a mischievous smirk. "We need to look like he was going to attack me. You're a good story-teller, Terrell. Use your imagination, and have him come see me behind these bleachers. I'll handle the rest." Terrell nods, then stands up quickly and yells "What did you say about his momma?"

Ron takes his acting cue and stands up himself and walks away, shaking his head and holding up his hands. Tom looks over at Brand Name and smirks, now that Terrell's outburst has his attention.

Terrell walks over towards Brand Name as Tom leans back and rests his head on his hands on the bleacher behind him.

When Terrell gets up to Brand Name and points back at the bleachers, Tom stands up and walks down from the bleachers and goes behind them.

When Tom gets to the back of the bleachers, Brand Name starts storming towards Tom. Tom smiles at this and looks around and realizes he has the attention of some prisoners in the yard, including Ron and the rest of the Brothers of Bloodshed, who are watching with great interest over what's about to go down.

Brand Name, who we now see has numerous piercings and tattoos that talk about how much of a 'gangsta' he is, storms around the corner of the bleachers and gets in Tom's face. In a wannabe-gangsta voice, he yells "WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY MOMS?"

Tom smirks and says "Terrell tells me about your mom's profession. When he described her, she started seeming awfully familiar to me..."

Brand Name then shoves Tom, which causes Tom to grab Brand Name's shirt. He forces Brand Name towards him and gives Brand Name a headbutt to the face.

With his normal left hand instead of his Project Alloy hand, he punches Brand Name in the face twice, and then knees him in the gut, forcing Brand Name down to the ground. When Brand Name hits the ground, Tom gives Brand Name a couple hard kicks to the ribs.

Tom stops the assault to gauge Brand Name's willingness to fight back. When Tom sees his opponent isn't really interested in fighting anymore, he squats down and says "Now, I didn't say anything about your mother. But, I was talking with the Brothers of Bloodshed about your little debt to them. You pay your debts, or tomorrow, we're doing this again. We'll keep meeting like this until your debt is satisfied. Is that understood?"

Brand Name, his forehead cut from the headbutt, yells out in pain "Yes! Please don't hit me again!" Tom smirks as a few prison guards run up to him and get in between him and Brand Name. One of them says "Alright, you're going back to your cell early! Let's go!"

Tom turns around and is escorted by the guards out of the prison yard. All the while, he's got a smirk on his face, knowing that the job is done.

* * *

><p>Inside his prison cell later that night, Tom and Terrell are playing 5-card stud on his bottom bunk. Tom looks at his cards, then looks back at Terrell, who's also trying to keep a poker face.<p>

Suddenly, Terrell says "All in, baby!" Terrell then pushes his imaginary chips towards Tom, who nods and replies "You don't have shit! I call!"

Terrell than jubilantly sets down his cards. "Ha! Two pair, aces and jacks, pay the man!" Tom shakes his head and sets down his cards. "Full boat, kings over nines, hands off my money!"

Terrell then snaps his fingers and says "Damn! You and your secrets, you must be cheating!" Tom nods with a smirk on his face. "Yes, I'm cheating in a prison to earn myself some imaginary chips. You've got me nailed."

Terrell then angrily slides the rest of the cards over at Tom. "Man, just shut up and deal the cards!" Tom grabs the cards and starts to shuffle them when someone outside the cell says "Tom Falk, here's your book!"

Tom looks over and sees an older man holding a book through the bars. Tom shakes his head. "I didn't request a book." The man intently says "This is your BOOK, sir..."

Tom looks at the man a little funny, then gets up and grabs the book from the man, who then resumes pushes the library cart back down the line.

Tom looks at the book, which is really a guide to repairing Harley-Davidsons. He notices a piece of paper sticking out from the top of the book and pulls it out.

He opens up the folded paper, which says "_Brand Name came through. You now have protection. Let's talk tomorrow about the other proposal. -R_."

Tom smirks as he folds up the paper and sticks it back in the book. Terrell asks "What was that?" Tom looks at Terrell and sarcastically says "I now have a biker gang watching my back. I feel so blessed."

Terrell laughs and says "Good, I'll hang out with you from now on. I like having my back protected too, ya know?" Tom smirks as he sits down and goes back to shuffling the cards.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the prison infirmary, we catch back up with Arvin Sloane, sitting on the end of a hospital bed.<p>

Thus far, Sloane hasn't had much luck finding a cure for Nadia. He's got a couple possible leads, but the fact that nothing has materialized by this point worries him somewhat.

Also, he can't help but feel even more worried after seeing Tom Falk in the cafeteria a few days ago. He thinks back to the throat-slash that Tom gave him.

Was the throat-slash a reminder that Sloane has a death sentence hanging over his head if he doesn't come through for Nadia? Or did the throat-slash mean that Sloane has been marked for death already?

Those thoughts trouble Sloane and now has him wondering just how big of a problem he has with Tom.

As he thinks that, we see an older Latino man wheeled in to the infirmary. The man only has one leg and needs help from the prison guards to get seated at the end of the other hospital bed in the room.

The guards say "Alright, Jorge, the doctor will see you shortly for your exam. Don't even think about getting up from your seat!" Jorge chuckles and says "I have one leg, you momos! I ain't going nowhere!"

As the guards walk out of the room, Sloane notices that Jorge doesn't have any prison clothing yet, meaning he's probably a new prisoner. He asks "What's your name?" Jorge looks over and says "Jorge Campos. Who are you?" Sloane replies "Arvin Sloane. What are you in here for?"

Jorge shrugs. "Got caught trying to traffic heroin across the border. Border patrol's getting smarter." Sloane sarcastically says "I guess work is hard to find for drug suppliers with only one leg."

Jorge just sarcastically chuckles, but says nothing. Sloane looks at him a little curious and asks "Mind if I ask you what happened to your other leg?"

Jorge shakes his head and says "This will sound crazy, but this psychotic CIA agent cut it off back in 1996 as revenge for killing his friend."

Sloane turns away and can't help but be surprised at that. As he's looking away, he asks "This man wouldn't happen to go by Halcón Diablo, would he?"

Jorge looks at Sloane stunned and asks "How do you know about him?" Sloane smirks and says "Tom Falk was a man that I had in my employ for the past few months. He also so happens to be engaged to my daughter."

Jorge looks completely stunned at this. "You mean you not only let Halcón Diablo work under you, but he's also going to be your son-in-law?" Sloane shakes his head and says "Not as long as my daughter remains in a coma. I'm responsible for that, and in response, he's threatened to kill me."

Jorge starts laughing evilly. "Oh man...you better run and hide from him if you value your life!" Sloane curiously asks "Why is that?"

Jorge stops laughing and says "Do you know why our gang gave him the Halcón Diablo nickname? Because only the devil could be so cruel! The man is pure evil!"

Sloane looks a little troubled over that, then asks "What did he end up doing to you?" Jorge looks down at his missing leg and says "I don't want to talk about it..."

Sloane, now insistent, says "If this man is going to try to kill me, I want to know what I'm up against. Tell me, what did he do to you?"

Jorge sighs deeply and says "He cut off my leg inch by inch until I gave up where our leader was...and then, he cut off the rest. We had tortured his agent friend and sent him back to his team on the verge of death. After he died, Tom swore revenge on all of us...and he got it. He made us all suffer in different ways...he'd use one of the methods we used to torture his friend back on us, just so we could get a taste of what his friend felt. He would always attack our strengths. So, he cut of my leg because I was fast. He really went crazy on our leader before sending a rival gang to wipe the rest of us out. I escaped all of that, but it was hard to go anywhere in Mexico without hearing of his legend. Everyone feared crossing him."

Jorge then stops and starts rubbing the area where his leg was cut off. Sloane, meanwhile, remains in stunned silence as he digests what he just heard.

Jorge then looks over and says "And now, you tell me that you put the woman he wants to marry in a coma. Believe me, you're going to want to kill him before he kills you. You don't want to be on the other end of this man's wrath when you attack his heart." Sloane looks over and says "From what I understand, he's facing 5 to 10 years for attempted murder. He's being held in this very prison, in fact."

Jorge's eyes bug out. "HALCON DIABLO IS HERE?" Sloane nods his head. "Yes, he's in the general prison population in what they call B Block."

Jorge turns away and remains stunned at this news. "I'm in B Block..." As Jorge processes this information, Sloane now also thinks about what he's about to say. Does he really want Tom dead?

After a few seconds, Sloane tells Jorge "Is it your wish to get revenge for what Tom did to you?" Jorge forms a scowl on his face and says "I want nothing more in this world than to see him dead. And now I might have my chance."

Sloane nods his head and turns away, now looking concerned. "I'm not going to deny that killing him would put my mind at ease at the surface, but this is a delicate situation I'm in with him and my daughter..." Jorge says "You mean you actually want him to live?"

Sloane mulls over that comment for a bit. If Tom has reneged on his promise to let Sloane live so he can find a cure for Nadia, then killing him before he's killed himself would alleviate those concerns. But, if Nadia were to learn that he was behind Tom's death, then there's no telling how she'll react. And he's not sure if he wants to risk that. Plus, Tom NEEDS him alive so he can get his fiancee back.

In the meantime, realizing that he doesn't want to implicate himself if something does happen to Tom, he says "We're just two men, having a conversation. I'm not saying you should do anything." Jorge smirks. "I can read between the lines. Don't worry, your Halcón Diablo problem will be solved soon."

As Sloane goes to retort, a prison guard opens the door and says "Time to go back to your cell, Arvin. Let's go." Sloane hops down from the table and looks at Jorge troubled. Jorge notices, but doesn't seem to care...he's already got his mind set.

Sloane then turns and walks out of the infirmary with the guard...wondering if now it's Nadia that he should be worried about if Tom dies.

* * *

><p>The next day, we catch back up with Tom sitting on the bleachers next to Terrell. Its yet another nice day at the prison. Blue skies, sun shining, and again, a gentle breeze blowing by.<p>

It's been almost a week since Tom arrived in prison and he's already learned to savor days like this, because there's really not much to savor about prison life in general.

Tom turns to the right to see Ron from the Brothers of Bloodshed walking over to him. Tom slaps the empty spot on the bleachers next to him, motioning Ron to have a seat. Ron obliges and leans back and relaxes when he sits. Tom and Terrell lean back themselves in a relaxed position.

Ron asks "Did you get the book we sent you last night?" Tom smiles and nods. "Yes, I did. So, all it took was a little beatdown to get Brand Name to fork over the goods?"

With a sneer, Ron replies "Of course, we knew that he had no spine. We'd do it ourselves, but it's common knowledge that he has dealings with us. We felt it was best to go outside the club to handle this. I hope you understand." Tom shrugs. "No, I understand. Plus, I'm grateful that you guys will have my back now."

Ron then says "You could have more than that if you help us out with something else." Tom looks away from Ron and out at the rest of the biker gang. "You're referring to my problem that's sitting in solitary confinement."

Ron says "Exactly. Our friend in solitary tells us that this Arvin Sloane wouldn't be hard to get at. They both have reasons to go the infirmary every now and then. I can't guarantee that he'll be killed any time soon, but we'll make sure the job's done right."

Tom takes a deep breath and sighs. Now, like Sloane in the infirmary last night, it's his turn to weigh the pros and cons of killing his arch nemesis.

The pros are, well, he'd be dead and revenge will be complete for all the physical and emotional damage he caused Nadia throughout her life. Plus, he'd really be doing the free world a favor by erasing him from this earth.

But, to his knowledge, Arvin Sloane is the only chance that Nadia has at recovering, faint as it might be. Tom can't think of any other solutions to get Nadia back. Besides, even though he's dealing with a man who would go back on his word in an instant, Tom did make a promise to Sloane, and how would he look if he didn't keep it by having him whacked now? The last thing Tom wants to be known as is as a man that breaks his promises, even though he technically broke his promise to Nadia to protect her, which still gives him no comfort. In the end, the thing he most wants in this world is to spend the rest of his life with Nadia, and to do that, Sloane has to live.

Tom then looks over at Ron and, in a serious tone, says "Thanks, but no thanks. I need him alive for now. Even though it would give me great pleasure to hear of his sad and unfortunate death, I have to let Sloane choose his own fate. But, I do appreciate you giving me protection in the meantime."

Ron grins and reaches over for a handshake. "No skin off my back. In the meantime, we're thankful for the good service you did yesterday. You keep looking forward, we'll keep looking behind you." Tom shakes Ron's hand and Ron then decides to walk off.

Terrell looks over at Tom and asks "Why you keeping this bastard alive, man?" Tom, still looking forward, says "He knows why I'm keeping him alive..."

Tom then reaches into his front pocket and pulls out the picture of him and Nadia in Buenos Aires. He smiles at the sight of Nadia smiling.

Terrell looks over at the picture and asks "Is that your lady?" Tom, still smiling, turns over to Terrell and says "Yep. And if he kills me, he kills any hope of her loving him again."

Tom looks back down at the picture and, in a serious tone, says "There's no way he'd try to kill me. He knows better."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	25. Ch 24: The Price Of Silence

**THE PRICE OF SILENCE**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal Prison<strong>_

Tom gazes out into the horizon, leaning up against a light pole in the prison yard. Unlike most days since he entered prison, today's not a nice day.

The sky looks ominous. Dark clouds fill up the sky, all the way to the rolling hills that help shape the skyline that Tom is gazing out at.

It feels rather humid today. A gust of wind goes by, and Tom immediately takes notice that the air feels moist. Rain is coming.

It's been two weeks since he earned protection from the Brothers of Bloodshed. He feels safe walking around freely, as there's bikers usually spread throughout the yard.

He looks content as he stares at the hills and reflects. He was able to see Nadia in the hospital earlier in the day, just as he did last week, and the week before that. Sydney has joined him on each of his visits, bringing him both good home-cooked food as well as good company. Mike even flew into town a few days ago to see how he's doing.

He's also gotten visits from his attorney and former Anti-Cartel director Eduardo Munoz, who actually has been visiting less frequently because there's just not much to talk about with his case stalled. Plus, Tom is starting to feel a lot better mentally as Sovogda gets pushed further and further back in history.

As he looks out at the rolling hills, he can't help but imagine what he'd be doing now had Nadia and him made it out of Sovogda unscathed.

He'd probably be settling down to dinner with her back at the apartment. They will have just come off two gloriously relaxing and enjoyable weeks in San Felipe, both a little more tan then when they left for the trip.

Nadia would probably be dressed in a shirt and jeans, her usual casual attire away from work. She'd also be wearing her favorite kind of perfume, and the thought of that smell pleases Tom. Nadia's scent is just one of the many things he loves about her.

Suddenly, his daydreaming is interrupted by a ruckus going on behind him. Tom turns and sees that a prison yard brawl has started. The Brothers of Bloodshed and a pack of Latinos are going at it pretty hard.

Whatever they're fighting about probably has nothing to do with him. Besides, he's enjoying getting lost in his daydream. So, Tom just turns back and goes back to staring out at the hills while chaos goes on behind him.

Tom smiles again as he imagines giving Nadia a kiss and thanking her for a wonderful meal. Tonight could have been taco night, and Nadia is a very creative cook. He imagines how the various spices she would have used would have tasted...

"_Tom, look out behind you!"_

Tom snaps out of his daydream and digests what he just heard. "Mom? Is that you?"

"_TOM! MOVE!"_

Tom quickly turns around and spots a Latino man right behind him, holding a crude prison shank in his right hand. He's being followed by a man in a wheelchair that looks vaguely familiar to him at first glance.

Still, Tom's more concerned with this man with the shank. Tom notices the man take aim for his gut and quickly jumps out of the way, barely missing the shank being swung at him.

Tom then faces the man and stares him down, waiting for him to react. The hopeful assassin eyes him down menacingly, and then charges at him with his knife drawn above his head.

Tom decides to cut down the distance by charging back at the man and tackling him before the man can react quick enough to take a swing at him with the knife.

The crude knife goes flying towards the man in the wheelchair. Meanwhile, Tom finds himself back in the same position he was in when he turned Julian Sark's face into a punching bag.

But, instead of going to town on this young man's face, Tom stands up and grabs the assassin by the shirt and drags him to his feet. He swings at his head with his Project Alloy hand, but the man ducks and punches Tom in the stomach.

Tom, realizing this guy is quick, bearhugs the man before he can take another swing and drives him back first into the perimeter fence. He then starts punching the guy's ribs with his right hand while in the bearhug, trying to take his wind away.

Finally, Tom steps back and cracks the assassin in the face hard with his right hand, knocking him out instantly with the force of the titanium-backed blast.

Tom then turns around to inquire about what had happened to his protection, but instantly notices the man in the wheelchair has wheeled up to him and is about to swing at Tom's leg with the prison shank that the assassin dropped.

Tom, seeing as this man is older and not as mobile, grabs the man's right wrist before the knife gets plunged into his leg. Tom then starts bending the man's right arm backwards and twists the right wrist slowly, causing the shank to now point at the man.

Tom, still applying pressure to the man's arm, looks the man in the face and instantly recognizes who it is. "Jorge Campos...one of the only Lobos Rabiosos gang members that can say he's still alive today. Still upset over the whole leg thing, I take it?"

Jorge doesn't answer as he's more focused on trying to prevent the shank he's holding in his right hand from being plunged into his own chest.

With the tip of knife a couple centimeters away from Jorge's chest, Tom suddenly gives Jorge's right hand a hard twist. An audible crack is heard from the wrist breaking. The pain this causes forces the hand to open up and the shank to drop harmlessly to the ground.

Tom then leans in and gets in Jorge's pained face. "9 years ago, I let you crawl away with your life. And now, 9 years later, I'm still going to let you live. Now, was this your idea, or did someone else put you up to this?"

Jorge continues to eye down Tom in pain until, all of the sudden, he starts to laugh sinisterly. Tom's a bit confused at this, but doesn't break his angry glare.

And then, as prison guards are approaching to separate them, Jorge smiles and says "I met your future father-in-law a couple weeks ago. He wanted you dead, too."

Tom backs off and has a shocked look in his face. Only one thought comes to mind: _"Sloane wanted me dead?"_

The prison guards stand between the men. One of them picks up the prison shank and asks "Who's is this?"

Another guard says "I saw the altercation. The man in the wheelchair and his accomplice were the aggressors." The guard then points over at the man that Tom knocked out along the prison fence. "That's the man that initiated the attack."

Another guard then tells Tom "Alright, we're sending you back to your cell while we sort this out. Follow me." Tom does as instructed and follows the guard back towards the prison.

He looks back at Jorge, who's in the process of being handcuffed to his wheelchair. Jorge glares at him back angrily, but Tom's not concerned with that at the moment.

He then looks back forward and continues to digest the fact that, apparently, he had Sloane all wrong.

* * *

><p>Tom stares off into space in his private meeting room, still going over what happened a couple hours ago.<p>

"_Arvin Sloane wanted me dead."_

Tom can't get those words out of his mind. He thought Sloane would have known better than to try to take away Nadia's fiancé. And if Sloane was behind his death, he couldn't hide that fact from her since Jorge was so willing to implicate him, and word would have gotten back to Nadia somehow.

And remembering how Nadia's temper can be, he knew she would have done more than simply disown Sloane. It wouldn't have been pretty when they confronted each other over his death.

As he continues to mull over Sloane's motivation, his attorney Eduardo Munoz comes in to the room. The first thing he asks as he walks over to the table is "Are you alright?"

Tom nods his head. "I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out why Sloane wanted me dead." Eduardo shakes his head as he sits down. "I just finished talking to him. He's denying he had any involvement."

Tom chuckles sarcastically. "Of course he would. The man is a habitual liar. But, we still have Jorge..." Eduardo cuts him off. "No, we don't. Jorge is denying everything, too."

Tom rolls his eyes. "Jorge told me that my future father-in-law wanted me dead. There's only one future father-in-law in my life, and he just so happens to be in this prison. Jorge must have talked to him." Eduardo nods. "Sloane did admit to having a conversation with Jorge a couple weeks ago in the infirmary. However, he says he never asked to have you killed. And the CIA isn't even willing to consider Sloane's involvement, considering Jorge already had the motive he needed to kill you."

Tom sighs and looks down. "So, Jorge acted on his own as revenge for cutting off his leg. Yeah, I'd say that's enough motive." Eduardo then says "Jorge and the young man he tasked to kill you have been sent to a Supermax prison and both are charged with attempted murder..."

Tom looks back up and cuts him off. "Good, so my threat is over and I can go back to my cell?" Eduardo shakes his head. "No. There's still a threat. Many of the prisoners in general population have ties to Jorge and there's a belief between me and Director Chase that another attempt on your life would be imminent if you went back to general population. Therefore, you've been ordered to be held in protective custody until your trial."

Tom slams his hand on the table and says "NO! Don't do this to me! I can't be locked away in solitary confinement! I'll crack!" Eduardo says "I've asked for and been granted more outside time for you than most members of solitary get. You'll be outside a total of 4 hours in the day, two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. I know you have a lot on your mind, especially with what happened to Nadia, but it you do seem to be doing better lately."

With a bit of a scowl on his face, Tom replies "I WAS doing better with it lately because prison has given me new challenges to keep my mind off of things. When I'm sitting all alone in a closet for 20 hours of the day, what else am I going to do besides dwell on things?" Eduardo then replies "You'll still be allowed to visit Nadia in the hospital with Sydney. That won't change. Also, I'll check on you daily now to make sure you're doing alright. You have to understand, Tom, I'm trying to help you. Remember when you started in the Anti-Cartel, I told you that I would continue to look out for my agents? Well, that hasn't changed."

Tom looks down at the table and sighs. "I understand, Eduardo. And I appreciate you trying to help me. It's just...I know I can be my own worst enemy. It's a weakness of mine, and I admit that. So, I apologize that I'm afraid to be kept from human contact for as long as this process takes." Eduardo then leans forward. "There's also something I told you on that first day that will serve you well while you're in prison. It's about what to do while in captivity..."

Tom smirks and cuts Eduardo off. "'Don't let them break your mind or your spirit. Those two things are yours and no one can break them but you.'" Eduardo smiles. "You always were a good listener. In fact, you became one of my best agents. I enjoyed you grow as both a leader and as an agent. You never let anyone intimidate you, and that's why I recruited you in the first place."

Tom chuckles and says "Well, you helped me out a lot. So did Matt Aguero...and I still thank you for understanding what I was going through when all of that happened." Eduardo nods affirmatively. "I didn't appreciate you and Mike going rogue on us to avenge him, but in the end, you did help bring down a rising gang in southern Mexico that was really making waves with their aggressiveness..."

Tom shakes his head and cuts Eduardo off. "...even though I become a monster in the process. The whole purpose of the Anti-Cartel was to think like a cartel and to take the fight to them, on their turf. After Matt died, I took that a little too literally with the Lobos Rabiosos." Eduardo leans back and says "You always were aggressive in the field, but you never went back to that level of aggression since then. Anyway, I knew what you were going through at the time. You and Matt were close friends."

Tom laughs and says "Close friends? More like brothers. He taught me a lot about gang mentality, having grown up in one himself, not to mention spending hours and hours trying to teach me Spanish. He didn't have to do that, but he looked out for me, and we ended up looking out for each other. I really miss him. I've been thinking about him a lot since I got here. By the way, do you ever hear how his wife and kid are doing?" Eduardo nods his head and says "They're fine. I check up on them every now and then. Rachel has since re-married, and Matt Junior is doing good in school."

Tom smiles and says "Good. I'll never forget the look on his face when he told me that Matt Junior was on the way. It was like he was floating on a cloud for a while there." Eduardo nods and says "Yeah, he was very passionate about his family, kind of like you were with Kate..."

Tom rolls his eyes. "Thanks for reminding me about that backstabbing bitch." Eduardo laughs, but says nothing.

Tom then remembers something. "Hey, how is Sark doing? Is he still in la-la land?" Eduardo, a little troubled, says "Actually, he suffered a mild stroke a week ago. They were in surgery, checking on his brain damage when the stroke occurred."

Tom leans back and exhales. "Thank goodness he survived, otherwise I'd really be screwed..." Eduardo shakes his head. "No, they're saying the stroke occurred as a result of the surgery, not the existing wounds. Still, Director Chase wasn't too pleased when she heard the news, seeing as there's a malpractice lawsuit coming down the road in all likelihood. Speaking of Chase..."

Eduardo reaches into his briefcase and slides Tom a piece of paper. Tom immediately asks "What's this?" Eduardo says "That's Chase's first plea offer."

Tom picks up the paper and looks at it. He sees that he'd plead guilty to attempted murder and be sentenced to 10 years in prison, with parole eligibility after 8 years. He immediately forms a look of disgust. "This is the maximum sentence for attempted murder. Does she think she's doing me a favor here?"

Eduardo shakes his head. "No, but she knew that you might have some reprehension over going into solitary and offered that as a way out. You'd be transferred and placed back in general population in a prison where you'd be safe." Tom looks back at Eduardo and cracks a wide smirk. "Don't let them break your mind or spirit, right?"

Tom then starts ripping up the plea deal into little pieces, and then sets the pieces in front of Eduardo. "Tell her to keep that along with any other plea deals that involve me pleading guilty to attempted murder in a bag. And then, on the day when I'm allowed to plead guilty to the REAL crime of aggravated assault and released with time served, I want to take all these plea offers and throw them up in the air like confetti in front of her face. She thinks she's going to break me. Well, she's dead wrong. You know as well as anyone that nothing motivates me more to succeed than people doubting me."

Eduardo, not exactly sharing Tom's confidence, takes the ripped up pieces of paper and puts them in his pocket. "I don't think she'll be very happy to hear that, but I'll pass along the word. In the meantime, do you need anything else from me?"

Tom thinks, then says "Could you let Sydney and Mike know what's going on? Also...you should have my sister's cell phone number. I'd like you to tell Karen what's going on. She doesn't even know I'm in prison." Eduardo leans back and folds his arms. "Afraid to tell her yourself?"

Tom chuckles and shakes his head. "I wouldn't know what to say. I was hoping you could find the right words." Eduardo thinks for a bit, then nods his head. "I can do all of that."

At that point, a prison guard walks in the room and says "Time to go to your cell. Let's go."

Tom looks at the guard and nods, then looks back at Eduardo and extends his hand for a handshake. "We're still going to beat this. I appreciate all your help." Eduardo smirks as he shakes Tom's hand. "Chase has been grilling me about how I led you in the Anti-Cartel. Quite frankly, it's gotten to the point where I want to take some of those plea deals and throw them like confetti when you walk away from this, too. I can't wait to see the look on her face when you walk away a free man!"

Tom laughs out loud and says "That's the cocky and confident Anti-Cartel director I know!" Eduardo laughs himself, and then says "Take care, Tom. I'll be in touch."

Eduardo then walks out of the room as the guard comes in to handcuff Tom. Then, the guard says "Follow me."

Tom follows the guard out of the room and walks down the hallway and up some stairs with the prison guard. Then, he walks down a long hallway filled with private cells.

Towards the end of the hallway, the guard stops and unlocks one of the doors. He opens the door to reveal a tiny 9 by 9 foot room with a tiny sink, toilet, a bed, and a small window looking out on the prison yard.

The guard tells Tom to walk in, which he does. The guard then unlocks Tom's handcuffs and walks out of the room. He closes the door and locks it.

Tom walks up to the door and looks out the small plexiglass window facing out to the hallway. He then lets out a loud sigh as he walks over and stands up on his bed to look out the outside window. He sarcastically chuckles and says "Well, at least they gave me a room with a view."

He then sits down on the edge of his bed and reaches into his front pocket and pulls out his picture of him and Nadia in Argentina.

As always, he smiles a bit when he sees Nadia's smiling face. He then says "Just keep smiling for me, babe."

Tom then kisses Nadia's face in the picture, then puts the picture back in his pocket and lies down on the bed for a nap. He takes a deep breath and allows his mind to slow down.

He listens for any sounds of feet walking outside, or maybe sounds from prisoners in the adjacent cells.

After a few seconds, he hears nothing but dead silence. This actually pleases Tom somewhat. He cracks another smile and says "Well, I'll at least be able to sleep without Terrell's snoring."

Tom then closes his eyes for a nap.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal prison- One month later<strong>_

"Forty-four...forty-five...forty-six...forrrrty...*splat*"

Inside his solitary confinement cell, Tom lies face-down on the floor, tired from doing pushups. After a few seconds, he gets up from the floor and sits down at the edge of bed to try to cool off.

Being in solitary has actually had its benefits. He likes the peacefulness and silence of not having loudmouth cellmates constantly bugging him, although he had started to make friends with Terrell before the attempt on his life.

There's not much to do in solitary besides read and do bodyweight exercises. His twice-daily workouts consist mostly of squats, ab crunches, pull-ups using the prison bars on the windows, and push-ups.

Not that he was really out of shape before, but Tom has already noticed that his strength is starting to really build up from these workouts. These give him something to be happy about in his dull days.

He also notices that his belly is starting to shrink. Most of his life, he was told it wouldn't be a bad idea to lose 10 or 15 pounds. Now, it would seem he's taking that advice and running with it.

But, being in solitary is also very lonely for Tom. He reflects a lot on Nadia and his own struggles in the past few years. He also reflects on the others he's lost in his life: Matt Aguero, his brother Eddie, and of course, the six members of Storm Crew that lost their life in Torino a couple years ago.

Tom shifts to put his back on the wall and his feet up on the bed. In need of a project to pursue, he starts going through Time Magazine's Top 100 list of the best books of all time.

He picks up his latest book, 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger. He vaguely remembers reading this in high school, but so much has happened to him since then that he can't remember a thing about it.

He opens the book and starts to read the introduction. After a few seconds, though, his prison door opens.

The prison guard says "You have a visitor." Tom looks a little puzzled at that. He already had seen Eduardo today and Sydney was going to be stopping by tomorrow.

Still, Tom gets off of his bed and stands in front of the guard to be handcuffed and escorted to the private meeting room.

After walking through the usual path to the room, he stands outside the meeting room door as the prison guard opens it. He's surprised to see that his visitor is already in the room, with the back of his head facing him.

And then, the visitor turns to face the door, and Tom's jaw drops at who he's seeing:

Arvin Sloane.

Sloane, seeing Tom's displeasure with him being there, defiantly smirks a bit as he eyes Tom down. As he does that, the guard unlocks Tom's handcuffs and nudges him in the room. When Tom walks in, the guard closes the door.

Tom doesn't immediately take his seat. In fact, he looks behind him out the window to see if the guard is still standing outside the door, which he is.

Tom then turns back to Sloane, still in disbelief, and asks "What in the freaking hell are you doing here?" Sloane gets a serious look on his face and says "We need to talk."

Tom cuts a wide path around Sloane as he walks around the table to his seat. Sloane notices, but doesn't say anything.

Tom sits down and, now a little irritated, says "I asked you a question. What are you doing here...in regular clothes no less!" Sloane plainly replies "I've been released from prison and found not guilty for my crimes."

Tom looks up at the ceiling and starts shaking his his head in disbelief. "Do I want to know what you did to pull that miracle off?" Sloane smirks again and says "Actually, you do. Because I can get you out of here the same way I got out."

Tom looks down at him quickly and simply replies "Bullshit." Sloane shakes his head. "This time, it's not. I need your help."

Tom uneasily shifts in his seat a bit as Sloane continues. "I understand you've been locked in solitary since you were attacked a month ago..." Tom slams his hands on the table and leans forward. "Yeah, since you sent Jorge Campos to kill me, you piece of shit!"

Sloane shakes his head slowly. "I made no order to kill you." Tom, still leaning forward and looking at him menacingly, asks "Then why did he say you wanted me dead?"

Sloane looks down. "We had a conversation about you. He told me about what you did to him, and I asked him if he was looking for revenge, purely out of curiosity. He misinterpreted me and thought I wanted you dead as well. Tom, you know that your death would devastate my daughter." Tom shakes his head and lets out a sarcastic chuckle. "I THOUGHT I knew that. But then again, I forgot about your penchant for alienating the people closest to you for your own, selfish reasons."

Sloane looks back at Tom and says "I'm not going to deny that I thought about retaliation after you nearly strangled me to death in Sovogda, but I couldn't do that to Nadia. You once told me that Nadia is about all you have left in this world, but that's not true because you still have some allies. But with me, Nadia IS all I have left." Tom thinks about Sloane's comments for a bit, then replies "After all you've put her through, you're still trying to sell me on the premise that you actually give a damn about Nadia's well-being. After all, she's in a coma now because of your actions."

Sloane, unfazed at Tom's outburst, says "I tried to save Nadia in Sovogda because I thought YOU could save her. You know this." Tom sighs deeply and says "Well, you were wrong. The doctor that's watching over her tells me that crap that's in her bloodstream is completely immune to The Lifeforce." Sloane nods his head and says "That might explain why Rambaldi has a separate cure for Nadia."

Tom gives Sloane a blank look and deadpans. "Who told you that? Elvis? The Easter Bunny? Or was it that little minx Tinkerbell?" Sloane ignores Tom's sarcasm and says "It was the people that helped get me off for crimes much more heinous than yours. Getting you off of attempted murder will be easy for them."

Tom laughs and shakes his head. "Man, what kind of a world do I live in when you can be declared innocent of helping commit genocide on an entire city?" Sloane replies "A world that would let you walk on its streets again a free man."

Tom turns away and mulls over what he's hearing. As he is, Sloane says "I need your help finding a cure for Nadia. You'll get the same deal I got."

Tom looks back at Sloane and asks "Who is this person that got you free?" Sloane leans back and replies "Gordon Dean. I understand you got to know him a bit before you beat Julian Sark into a coma."

Tom looks down at the table, surprised that he's hearing that name again. "Yeah, I got to know that rat bastard. Who does HE work for?" Sloane shakes his head. "He hasn't revealed that to me, only that there is a cure for Nadia. In exchange for the cure, there's certain...tasks that we would need to fulfill for him. And to do that, you'd have to get your job back at APO. From what I understand, Jack no longer harbors any resentment for you over what you did to Sark. Sydney has apparently convinced him that you're innocent."

Tom leans back and looks down at the floor. "So, let me get this straight...I get released from prison. And in exchange, I would have to work alongside a man that I hate more than life itself, who works under another man who, now that I think about it, probably framed me so I would be motivated to work under him under this very scenario. And to top it off, I would have to betray Sydney and APO to go on a chase for Nadia's supposed cure."

Tom, still looking at the floor, continues to mull over Sloane's offer. Yes, getting out of this place would be nice, and he wants to believe a cure does exist for Nadia. But everything about this stinks to him.

Tom then looks up at Sloane menacingly and says "Hell no." Sloane replies "I thought you would be eager to not only want to get out of solitary, but also help Nadia."

Tom smirks and says "You're right, I am. But what's to stop you from killing me when I'm released and working alongside you?" Sloane sighs and replies "Tom, like I said, I don't want Nadia to lose the man she's going to marry..."

Tom leans forward. "...because you know what she'll do to you if she hears you had me whacked. She has quite the temper, you know. So, don't think you're doing me or her any favors. You're still looking out for yourself, just like the bloodsucking tick that you always have been." Sloane keeps his glare at Tom, but is unable to respond with anything.

Tom smirks again and continues. "Cat got your tongue? I'm also not going to accept Gordon's offer because I know how these things work. You're promised the world, and all you have to do is perform a few tasks that go against your moral conscience for a while. Only, you find the deal is always changing, and you're having to do more and more and more until you find yourself in a hole that you can't get out of...and at that point, you realize there's no cure at all. You were taken advantage of. And in the process, you alienated not just everyone you know in your life, but you also alienated yourself. And then, you find yourself in the very same prison you were bailed out of, facing a much more serious set of crimes, and you're alone and depressed, knowing there's no more miracles left for you. In the end, you just went on a fool's errand."

Sloane mulls over Tom's comments for a bit, then replies "That's an interesting theory. However, what you would do alongside me would not go against your moral conscience because, based on what Jorge told me, you have no moral conscience. I need a man with your kind of mentality alongside me." Tom raises his eyebrows up a bit. "Too bad I'm not that man anymore. I did what I did to Jorge and the rest of his homies because it was the last wish of a dying man. I'm not a selfish prick like you are."

Sloane then takes a deep breath and says "Well, it'll be a shame when I tell Nadia about your past crimes. I know you probably haven't told her what happened after you avenged your friend's death, probably because you know she'll be repulsed at what she hears. Am I wrong?" Tom keeps his angry glare at Sloane, but internally, he knows Sloane is right. Finally, he replies "Whether I tell Nadia about my past or not is not your burden. It's mine."

Sloane says "Tom, after I find this cure, my daughter is going to marry you. And as her father, I would like her to know the man she's marrying. There can't be any secrets between you and her. If you don't tell her, I will." Tom snaps back "And if you tell her about my past, I'll not only tell her about how you wanted me killed, but I'll also tell her what you did to get out of prison. The last thing she wants is to think that you're still a criminal. It would just break her heart to hear that you wanted me dead and you had to betray APO in order to bring her back to life. So, if you want her affection again, she has to know your secrets, too, and if you don't tell her, then I guess I'll have to."

Sloane takes a deep breath and says "You would burn both of Nadia's bridges with us just to spite me." Tom shakes his head. "If I'm not going to be with her, I sure as shit don't want YOU to be the shoulder she cries on from now on."

Sloane thinks about what was just said for a bit, then asks "Who knows that I talked to Jorge before he tried to have you killed?" Tom raises his eyebrows. "Are you admitting that you did try to have me killed?"

Sloane snaps back "I'm only admitting that I talked to Jorge, and that what happened as a miscommunication between two imprisoned men. However, I realize that some might interpret that I set Jorge loose on you. You're not the only person that would have a bias against me, should that information get out. Who all have you told?" Tom replies "My attorney, Mike Walcott, and Sydney Bristow."

Sloane then leans forward. "Tell them to keep their mouths shut about me. And if you stay quiet about my dealings, I'll stay quiet about yours. We both have too much to lose by opening our mouths to Nadia." Tom blankly replies "Who's to say that you haven't already lost Nadia with your actions?"

Sloane looks down and says "Let me have the chance to rectify that." Tom leans forward and gets back in Sloane's face. "You know that's going to be a tough sell. So, I might be willing to keep my mouth shut about our dealings, and tell my companions to do the same, but only if you agree to stay the hell out of Nadia's life after she's revived. You've been nothing but poison to her. When all of this is over, and if she still wants to be with me, we're going to live a normal and peaceful married life. And I don't ever want you around our children, whenever we decide to have them. If you love your daughter and if you value your own life, you'll stay far, far away from her. That's the price of my silence."

Sloane looks at Tom angrily and says "You have no right to tell me to stay out of Nadia's life. Only she can say that." Tom leans back and casually replies "Well, then I'm going to find it awfully hard to keep your secrets a secret. Maybe I can give Nadia a chance to make an informed decision about her future with you."

Sloane leans back himself, looking a little defeated. "Here's one thing we can agree on: You want me to find a cure for Nadia. And I'm willing to do these risks for her. Telling Sydney and your attorney about my activities will likely keep Nadia in a coma for the rest of her life." Tom nods his head, then says "I tell you what...I won't say anything about your dealings with Gordon Dean if you keep what you learned from Jorge a secret to everyone, including Nadia. Leave that burden to me. Do we have a deal?"

Sloane then leans back in his chair. "You know, I'm still surprised that you're not willing to go to the lengths I am to find a cure for your fiancée. I thought you loved Nadia more than anything." Tom quickly replies "I do. But, you also know that I'm not a traitor. And there is no way in hell I'll work alongside of you after what you tried to have done to me a month ago. That was already tenuous at best after what you did in Sovogda."

Sloane, seeing as the conversation is about over, stands up. Tom stands in response. Sloane, looking Tom dead in the eyes, says "We have a deal. I keep quiet about your past and you keep quiet about what I'm doing for Nadia. However, I can't help but feel...disappointed that we won't get to work together again. Hopefully, your time in prison won't be too long. I'd hate to have Nadia wait for you to get out." Tom, with a sneer, says "I'd ask if that would just break your heart, but I remembered you don't have a heart to break. So, save your sympathy. I'm going to get out of prison the right way, and I will be there after Nadia is revived to see her walk down the aisle, and she won't have to wait long for that."

Sloane deadpans "Good luck with that." Then, he turns and walks to the door. He slaps the door to signal he's done, then walks out of the room after the door is opened.

The prison guard walks up to Tom and handcuffs him and escorts him back to his room.

After his handcuffs are removed and his cell door is closed, Tom slowly wanders over to his bed and sits down on it, mulling over the conversation he just had.

He's sure that he made the right decision to turn down Sloane's offer, but something else is vexing him.

He remembers that Nadia came clean to him about her checkered past in Argentina, and while Tom has been very open about his past with her, he's purposely kept the Matt Aguero story quiet.

But, if he tells Nadia this, how will she react? And if he tells her the story about Jorge Campos, he knows he'd have to tell the whole, entire story of his rampage. And that scares him.

Tom then lies down and closes his eyes for a nap, trying to not let this question consume him, hoping the answer comes quickly.

Unfortunately, Tom will spend the next 8 months trying to decide whether to tell Nadia this.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	26. Ch 25: Salvation

**SALVATION**

_Note: This is a long chapter. FYI._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal prison<strong>_

"Ninety-six...ninety-seven...ninety-eight...ninety-nine...one...hundred!"

And with that, Tom Falk has completed a goal that he's hoped to accomplish since he arrived in solitary nine months ago: 100 pushups.

Tom hops up to his feet with a big smile on his face. Sweat pours out of his body, which has undergone some transformations since he entered prison.

His arms are a little bigger and stronger. He's also just about lost those 10 to 15 pounds everyone told him he could afford to lose. He doesn't yet have a six-pack, but Tom figures he'll have one if he keeps this up for a couple more months.

However, he realizes his time in this prison might be coming to an end. After he's sentenced, he could be sent to a prison far away from here...far away from Nadia. This fact forces his smile to erase as he walks over and sits on the edge of his bed.

Julian Sark recently re-emerged from his coma. However, Tom's attorney Eduardo Munoz has not been able to get him to change his story. And the video of Tom's interrogation of Sark remains semi-corrupted.

Sark's coma made it easy for Munoz to stall things on behalf of Tom, but with Sark back among the conscious, there's no more stalling left to be done. In two weeks, he's going to have a pre-trial hearing, with trial to come the week after that.

Tom's almost resigned to the fact that he's facing a long prison sentence until his 40's.

Oh, and to top it all off, Nadia remains in her coma, with little hope in sight there.

Still, when he finds that he's feeling down, he pulls out a now-wrinkly picture of him and Nadia on the shore of the ocean in Argentina five years ago, and her smile still manages to warm his sinking heart. Tom kisses Nadia's face in the picture. He hasn't stopped loving her, even though it's been 10 months since she spoke a word to him.

In fact, Tom has put the whole Sovogda experience in his rear-view mirror. It now seems so long ago, especially when your days are as slow as his. He still feels guilty for abandoning Nadia in the subway, but no longer does he let it drag him down to the psychological abyss.

Recently, Sydney gave birth to Isabelle, and between the baby and her job, she's been visiting less of late, although Tom understands why. Plus, he has become a boring conversation lately, unless he just so happened to read a book that Sydney had read before.

Despite all of that, Sydney makes sure someone is available to escort Tom to see Nadia on a weekly basis, even if she's not available. For instance, Marshall Flinkmann was Tom's escort last week. Like Sydney, Marshall is also on Tom's side when it comes to his court case.

Tom looks down at the ground and looks at a couple of rolled-up balls of white paper.

Eight months ago, Arvin Sloane told him that he should tell Nadia about what happened after Matt Aguero died. And while Tom is resigned to the fact that he has to tell her, he just doesn't know how.

Draft after draft after draft gets wadded up and thrown on the ground. Just when he thinks of a way he can spin his story, he wads up the paper and tosses it away, and goes back to the drawing board.

Now, as he sits catching a breather from his jail cell workout, he recalls a story from his past of the very man who he's trying to write about.

* * *

><p><em><strong>St. Francis Xavier Church, El Paso, TX- August 1995<strong>_

A young Hispanic man stands in front of a mirror, adjusting his tie. He's in a full tuxedo and looks very stylish. His black hair is buzzed very short, and he sports a small chin goatee. Some women would say he is rather handsome.

He looks a little nervous as he adjusts his tie, then adjusts his corsage on his left chest, and then the sleeves of his black tuxedo. As he frets over his appearance, a recognizable voice sarcastically says "You can do all the tweaking you want, Matt. But you're still going to look like Ricky Ricardo's worst nightmare!"

The man laughs as he turns and faces an early 20's Tom Falk, who's sitting on a couch. Falk is physically about the same as he's always been, but his blonde hair is a bit longer and his widow's peak hasn't quite formed yet.

In a noticeable Hispanic accent, Matt jokingly replies "Hey, don't diss the man who brought the world the Babalu Club! Ricky Ricardo was the man!" Tom laughs and says "Yeah, he was back in his day, wasn't he?"

Tom then composes himself as he stands and sincerely says "You look good, bud." Matt takes a deep breath and says "Thanks. I'm so nervous, man...I don't want to make a fool of myself out there."

Tom gives Matt an pat on the shoulder and says "You'll do fine. I mean, with all you've gone through, surely this will be easy!" Matt shakes his head a little dejected. "No, this is different. I mean, Rachel's done so much for me...and now she's carrying my child for me..."

Tom shakes his head. "No, she's carrying your child WITH you, Matt. That's what marriage is all about...you're in this together." Matt chuckles and says "How would you know? You're still working up the courage to propose to Kate!"

Tom replies "Yeah, yeah. But look, you've helped Rachel as much as she's helped you. Believe me, she loves you like crazy." Matt quickly replies "I know, but she had a much better upbringing than me, but always had trouble finding 'the right guy'. And here she is, about to marry a former street thug."

Tom pats Matt on the shoulder and says "Have a seat, Matt." Matt nods as he sits down on the couch with Tom.

Tom then says "Listen, I'm not too proud of some of the things I've done in my life too, not the least of which my heroin addiction two years ago. But we're not defined by who we were. We're defined by who we _are_. You're not a street thug anymore. You're a good man. And I'm proud to be your best man at your wedding today."

Matt smiles and says "I appreciate that." He then looks up at the ceiling. "You know, I remember coming into this church quite a bit growing up, looking for direction. This neighborhood was ground zero for gang activity back in my young days, and yet, here stood this bright spot in the middle of it all. My mom tried her best to take care of me, but it was hard for her to keep me focused in school when I was so influenced by all of the drug dealing and death taking place around me because of the cartels. And then, when my mom was gunned down, I lost my way. I stopped coming here, and that's when I embraced the gang lifestyle."

Tom, listening intently, says "You were 15 and you had to take care of your little brother and sister. There's not many job options for 15 year olds in this country." Matt shakes his head. "I know. And when my days of slinging dope and doing drive-bys were done, and when I'd lie in bed at home contemplating what I've done, I would find myself wondering if I'd ever find salvation. But, I couldn't bring myself to show my face in church anymore because I was so ashamed of myself."

Matt looks down and takes a deep breath. "And then, when I got pinched and was rotting in prison, Eduardo Munoz offered me a way out by offering me a job with the Anti-Cartel. I thought it was then that I had my salvation, but I was wrong. Turns out it was looking for Rachel all along."

Tom smiles and says "I remember when you two met at the bar that one night, you were smitten from the moment she said 'hi'!" Matt laughs a bit and says "Yeah, I'll never forget that either. It was through her that I found the salvation I was looking for. When I told her the things I've done in my life, she still stayed with me. And here she is, carrying my first-born child and about to marry me and take on the Aguero name."

Matt sniffles a bit, trying to hold back the tears. Tom cracks a small smile and puts his arm around Matt. "You're going to be a good husband and a good father. And when I eventually ask Kate to marry me, whenever that day may come, I'd be honored if you were my best man. Best man means exactly that, and you've been like a brother to me since we started together in the Anti-Cartel." Matt wipes away a couple tears and says "So have you, Tom. I'd be honored to be your best man."

Matt then sighs and says "Tom, I'm not going to be in the Anti-Cartel for much longer." Tom looks confused now. "What? Why?"

Matt replies "You know that the life-expectancy of an Anti-Cartel agent is pretty low. I don't want to be worried about what would happen if Rachel became a widow. She doesn't deserve that, and neither will my child. I've been going to school so I can become a criminal psychologist." Tom, in a bit of disbelief, says "That's great, but isn't that a bit of a step down from what you'll be making here?"

Matt blankly replies "Tom, we both have been skimming money from our raids. I've been skimming so I can save up and have a nest egg to supplement my income when I do get out of this. Now that I have Rachel and my baby on the way, I want to be there for them as much as I can. And to do that, I have to get out of this. In about a year or so, I'm gone. Please don't tell anyone."

Tom looks down, and still a little surprised, says "I understand. I just remember how adamant you were about trying to fight crime instead of causing it." Matt pats Tom on the knee and says "I still will be fighting crime. But instead of trying to stop gangbangers with my gun, I'll be stopping them with my words."

Someone knocks on the door to the room and Matt yells "Come in!" The door opens and Mike Walcott, looking much younger without his beard, walks in. "Hey, I think they're about ready to go out there."

Matt motions Mike to come over. "Hey, let's make a toast." Tom and Matt stand up while Mike walks over. Matt reaches over to the table next to the couch and pours some tequila into three shot glasses. He grabs two glasses and hands them to Tom and Mike. He grabs one for himself and holds it up high.

Tom and Mike follow suit as Matt says "To good friends and even better times to come." Tom smirks and says "To good women at your side." Mike chuckles and sarcastically says "And here's to staying single!"

The three of them share a laugh over that, then touch glasses. With the glasses still touching, the three of them say at the same time "Amigos hasta el final!" (Friends until the end).

* * *

><p><strong><em>Federal prison<em>**

Tom smiles as he reminisces about that good moment. To no one, he says "Some day, I'm going to be in Matt Aguero's shoes and Mike will be in mine. I wonder if I'll feel the same way Matt felt on his wedding day."

"_I'm sure you'll do just fine, too."_

Tom's eyes bug out for a moment, but then he settles down, realizing he just heard his mother. "Mom? After 9 months of being locked in a closet, you decide NOW is the time to talk to me?"

Mary replies _"Tom, I can't abuse my privileges." _Tom just laughs sarcastically and says "So, you talk to me only when I'm nearly getting shanked to death or when I'm randomly mumbling things into thin air. I get it now...I think."

After a few seconds, Mary says _"I've also been busy as of late, so I probably didn't hear you before."_ Tom looks confused. "Busy? You're dead! What could you possibly be doing in the afterlife besides...well, whatever it is you do when you're in the afterlife?"

Mary audibly sighs and says _"I see you're feeling better as of late. You were starting to really lose yourself before you were imprisoned." _Tom rolls his eyes and says "Oh, you noticed?"

Mary quickly replies _"I saw you break down in Sovogda. I was with you throughout the whole mission. There were so many times where I wanted to say something, but I couldn't." _Tom nods and, a little irritated, says "So, you must have known that Nadia was able to fight off the horde in the subway."

Mary says _"No, I stayed with you during all of that. I didn't see anything that happened to Nadia until you reached the rooftop." _Now angry, Tom says "Well, maybe you could have followed her instead! Maybe you could have told her to be careful after she fought off the horde. Maybe you could have prevented her from being caught by Elena!"

After a few seconds, Mary says _"I...was under orders to not interfere with what was going on." _Tom stands up and yells "ORDERS? What do you mean 'orders'? Who the hell has the right to say they're your boss when you're in the afterlife? I thought we could be whoever we wanted in the afterlife!"

Mary sighs again and says _"Tom, I was asked by Milo Rambaldi to not interfere."_ Tom's jaw drops. "You spoke to Rambaldi..."

Mary says _"Yes. In fact, he was the man on the horse when you visited me after you were shot."_ Tom sits back down suddenly and looks completely stunned as he hunches over. "Un-freaking-believable. How long have you been in league with Rambaldi in your little blue world?"

Mary says _"Ever since I arrived in the afterlife. He was waiting for me. He told me everything about your role in the prophecy and about Laurent L'Andre."_ Tom, still in disbelief, says "Irina Derevko said something about Laurent after we pulled her from Guatemala. What all did he say about him?"

Mary replies _"Not much, except that he is our ancestor and he was a loyal apprentice of his. In fact, up until your great-grandfather, the Laurent name carried on throughout the generations. And Irina was right, Laurent became Loren and L'Andre became Landry after his descendents sailed from France and settled in Missouri."_ Tom blankly says "Interesting. Anyway, I wish you would have talked to me earlier. Some days here are downright unbearable because of loneliness."

Mary says _"I know. But, as I said, I've been busy." _Tom sits up and says "Ok, I'll bite. What have you been doing?"

Mary, with noticeable worry in her voice, says _"Tom, please don't be angry with what I'm about to tell you."_ Tom now looks both intrigued and worried. "Most times, when people tell you 'don't be angry', you're probably going to be angry. So, just say it. Please."

Mary pauses for a few seconds, and then says _"I've been working with Irina Derevko to try to locate The Horizon, the last piece in Rambaldi's puzzle. When Sydney had her child, she started to make her move, but she would have had a lot of difficulty getting to this point in her plan without me."_ Tom sighs loudly and says "Why on earth would you help Irina Derevko do anything?"

Mary takes a deep breath and says _"Because, in exchange for my help, she helped me help you."_ Tom, now completely baffled, blankly asks "What?"

Mary quickly replies _"In Sovogda, as you were progressing down the Oransky Building with Nadia in your arms, I made a deal with Irina. My workings with Milo Rambaldi in the afterlife have given me a vast knowledge of his prophecy. So, in exchange for my help in her quest, I needed her to help comfort you after the mission and..."_ Tom notices her pause quickly. "And what?"

Mary then says _"The reason you're in prison is because of me. I had Irina, through Gordon Dean, send Julian Sark to get beaten up by you."_ In a moment of total disbelief, Tom closes his eyes and grits his teeth. Through his clinched teeth, he says "You did not just say that..."

Mary replies _"Tom, it was the only way you could survive the aftermath of Sovogda. I was there before you were told about your role in the prophecy, when Director Chase told you that you were one step away from being in deep trouble. And after seeing you become mentally shattered after what happened to Nadia, I had to do something to make sure you would survive all these months. You were in the process of becoming an alcoholic like your father..." _Tom, now with some tears in his eyes, screams "I AM NOT MY FATHER! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?"

Mary pauses for a bit, then, remaining calm as usual, says _"Tom, I know you don't want to hear this, but there are a few traits you picked up from your father. One of them was his addictive personality. I remember how you were in 1993..."_ Tom cuts her off angrily. "Don't even bring up my heroin addiction. That was all because I had too much pride in my job. I was setting up an LA gang on major drug charges, and with each deal I'd do with them, they'd make me test the heroin to make sure it was kosher. That's how I became addicted."

Mary says _"I know. But, you completely spiraled out of control..."_ Tom angrily cuts her off. "...and I got better! I went to rehab and I cleaned up and I NEVER have gone down that road again! And I would have gone to rehab again to beat whatever happened with me and alcohol!"

Mary then says _"When Nadia recovered, would you have wanted her to see what you had become? You wouldn't have stopped drinking, no matter how hard you worked at APO. And I was worried you'd start doing heroin again. You have to understand, I did this to protect you."_ Tom shakes his head and says "You're protecting me by taking 10 months and counting of my life away from me, and when Nadia recovers, she's going to learn that the man she's engaged to is in prison for 10 effing years for pounding some pretty boy's face!"

After some silence, Mary says _"You won't be in prison that long." _Tom shakes his head quickly and asks "And how the hell do you know this? Is this just a 'keep your head up' kind of speech or do you know something I don't?"

Mary replies _"I can't say..."_ Tom raises his eyebrows. "Oh, so now, you're going to be all secretive again. Maybe if I was IRINA DEREVKO, you would tell me!"

After a pause, Mary says _"Tom, please don't be angry with me. I only tried to help you because I love you, and you've come a long way since you were arrested..."_ Tom cuts her off, still pissed. "You know how you sound right now? My own mother doesn't even have faith in me!"

Mary sighs and says _"Listen, I can see how some things go in the future, and I can't give too much away here. All I will say is that I didn't make the deal with Irina with the intent of you spending a long time in prison." _Tom takes a bit to digest this information, then says "Mom, you would help a complete stranger from the afterlife, so your own son is going to ask you for your help."

Mary says _"What is it?"_ Tom, with a sneer on his face, says "I didn't sign up to be a Rambaldi plaything, and neither did Nadia. When all of this is behind us, there's going to be no more prophecy bullshit in our lives. And that includes you, Mom. Except for when you gave me the cue to move out of the way from getting shanked nine months ago, you've been nothing but bad news when you've reached across planes of existence to contact me. You told me I was going to die after an unbelievable night with Nadia, and now, I have to learn I was set up not by Gordon Dean, not by Irina Derevko, but my dead mother. Now, I can't get you down on the witness stand to confess what you did to me, so all of this is going to have to stay quiet so they don't think I've gone batshit crazy in solitary. But listen, when this is over and I'm walking free again, I don't want to hear your voice until I see your face in the afterlife. Hopefully, if Nadia doesn't hate me after I write this letter to her, I'm going to live a normal, regular, boring life with the woman I love, and hopefully get to raise a child or two. And I'm going to do that without hearing your voice in my head. Ever. I know I won't be able to forget everything that's happened to me, but I want to do my best to try. And not talking to you will help with that process."

Mary, with noticeable worry in her voice, says _"Tom, please don't do this to me. I love you..."_ Tom sarcastically replies "Oh what, you don't like being banished? How do you think I feel right now, sitting in prison? I don't want to have conversations with my mother only when it's convenient for her! I've called out to you I don't know how many times since I got here, but all I got was silence! And now, I know why. So, as long as blood continues to flow through my veins, don't talk to me. Got it?"

Now with sadness in her voice, Mary says _"Tom, I also wanted to say one more thing before I go. Will you please listen to me?"_ Tom dismissively replies "Sure, why not? I'm not doing anything better at the moment."

Mary replies _"You've been having trouble writing your letter to Nadia. All I'm going to say is: your best shot at keeping Nadia's love is just by being honest. In a life surrounded by lies, you've been the most honest person she's known, and she values that more than you'll ever know. And it's not just being honest about avenging Matt Aguero's death, either." _Tom, a little confused, asks "I've told her just about everything else..."

Mary cuts Tom off. _"Arvin Sloane. I watched as he talked with Jorge Campos. There was a strong desire by him to have you killed, although he did rethink his decision at the end. However, Jorge had made up his mind. I know you considered having him killed, but you never were too serious about it. But Sloane was. Tell her everything and leave nothing out. You'll only help her if you do." _Tom chuckles sarcastically and says "Wow, some helpful advice for once. About time, Mom."

Mary then says _"I'll respect your wish to stay silent. But know that I only want what you want: to see Nadia walk down the aisle. Everything I've done since Nadia fell in Sovogda is to try to ensure that. Anyway, I'm going to go now. I love you." _Tom mumbles "I love you, too...I guess."

Tom waits to see if he'll hear anything again, and when he realizes his mom is gone, he turns back and grabs a pad of paper and pen from next to his pillow. He thinks for a bit and then starts to write.

* * *

><p>After about an hour of writing, Tom goes over what he wrote:<p>

_Dear Nadia,_

_If you're reading this, then you've been cured. I can't tell you how happy I'm going to be to hear this news._

_By now, you're probably wondering why you haven't seen me yet. Believe me, if I could be there, I would be. After what I've been going through for much of the past year, nothing would make me happier than to see you smiling again._

_However, whether you see me again or not is entirely up to you._

_I've been in prison since the 5__th__ day after the Sovogda mission. I'm facing 5 to 10 years in prison for the attempted murder of Julian Sark. I can't explain why I'm in this predicament without telling you the whole backstory, so here we go._

_Right before the meeting where Jack revealed my role in the Rambaldi prophecy, Director Chase told me that she learned some more details about some incidents in the Anti-Cartel that immediately followed the death of my good friend Matt Aguero. I think I've mentioned his name to you before, but nothing else, and for good reason. More on him in a bit._

_After the Sovogda mission, I couldn't help but feel like a failure to you. I can't count the times since we got together that I promised to always be there for you, and I wanted nothing more than to leap off that subway car and help you fight off the infected. But, Vaughn held me back._

_I was angry at him for a while over that, but I realized later that he was just trying to protect me. I had given you my gun and I would have gone in weaponless and in the dark. Much to my regret, I couldn't apologize to him before he was slain._

_I don't know if you remember anything after Elena injected you with the tainted tap water, but I reached the rooftop just moments before your father shot you in the back while you were choking Sydney with a chain. I tried to tackle him so I could stop you in a more humane way, but I was a split second too late. I nearly killed your father after what he did to you by strangling him, but when I saw you were still alive, I let him go._

_I rushed over to your side and you said my name before fainting. Again, I don't know if you remember this or not. Your father then told me that he shot you so I could save you with The Lifeforce. I still wanted to kill the son of a bitch, but I granted him a stay of execution. More on him later._

_Anyway, The Lifeforce did not work on your infection. It healed up your bullet wound just fine, along with that skin graft you had on your neck after Anna branded you. I think that's all of your scars, but if you had any more, they're gone now. You're welcome._

_After my failure to heal you, I took it hard. I spent the next 4 days in a drunken bender. All I did was sit at home and drink and feel sorry for myself. I was angry with myself over the fact that I couldn't heal you and, in Sovogda, I couldn't save you and protect you like I had promised so many times before._

_Finally, my friend Mike helped me snap out of it, and I went and saw you on the 5__th__ day after Sovogda. However, Jack paid me a visit in the hospital and told me that Sark wanted to talk to me, and me only, about this new organization called Prophet Five. So, I returned to work that day._

_However, during his interrogation, it became clear that Sark was only going to antagonize me. I got up to walk away, but then he started talking about you. I'm not going to repeat what he said about you and I hope you never have to hear it, but he crossed the line._

_I responded by literally destroying his face. After punching his face repeatedly with my Project Alloy-aided right fist, I gave him a curb stomp on a floor vent. Gordon Dean, a man with the Office of Special Investigations, was supposed to be in charge of supervising my interrogation, but he skipped town during the beating and was later revealed to be a double. In fact, he murdered Vaughn later that day. Dean's flight from APO was why I was given so much time to beat up Sark so badly, because it took a long time for anyone to break us up._

_After things settled down, Director Chase came in to the room I was being held in and, after Sark falsely told her I intended to kill him and made further death threats, informed me that I was being arrested and charged with attempted murder. The video of the actual interrogation, where he provoked me into attacking him, was corrupted and only captured the actual beating itself. I knew I was being set up. Turns out I was, by my own mother. I really don't feel like talking about that right now, though._

_Before I go on, I want to give thanks to your sister. Through her, I was allowed to see you once a week. Sydney supervised my visits with you. In fact, I owe her a huge debt of gratitude for sticking with me throughout this and providing me home-cooked food when she can! She's been nothing but wonderful to me after my arrest and I can't repay her kindness enough._

_Now, what I'm about to say is something your father wanted me to keep quiet. But, even if you don't want to see or talk to me after reading this, I want you to be happy for the rest of your life, and I feel you should know this about your father if you're still wondering if you can pursue a relationship with him._

_During my third week of incarceration, a man tried to sneak up behind me during a prison yard brawl and stab me in the back. Thankfully, my mother clued me in to the attack before it happened and I was able to move of the way. The assassin was accompanied by a man named Jorge Campos, a person I had prior relations with in the Anti-Cartel. And I don't mean good relations. However, when I asked him if this was his idea, he told me something I wasn't expecting at all. Here are his exact words:_

"_I met your __I met your future father-in-law a couple weeks ago. He wanted you dead, too."_

_Your father would try to deny this to me a month later, but not a few minutes before I started writing this letter to you, my mother confessed to me that she saw the meet with Jorge and confirmed that your father indeed wanted me killed. Back when my blood didn't work on you, I made him a deal: If he somehow got out of prison (which he did), he had to find a cure for you. Because if you were to die because of his actions (and yes, I blame him 100% for your coma), he was going to die at my hands. However, Sloane apparently took that as an imminent threat and pushed Jorge to have me murdered._

_Anyway, as a result of the attempt of my life, I was ordered to stay in protective custody. It's been 9 months since I entered solitary confinement. My days are long, dull and lonely. _

_But, I can still put a smile on my face when I pull out Elena's picture of us in Argentina after the Conquistadores mission in 2001. Like I said when I proposed to you, your smile is so beautiful, and my heart is filled with euphoria every time I see it. Your smile has kept me positive and I look forward to seeing it again in person._

_Your father also told me that he's been working with Gordon Dean to find you a cure. In order to do that, he had to rejoin APO and do tasks for Dean that would result in the betrayal of Sydney and everyone else at APO. I have no idea what all he's done, although I hear Dean died a while ago while at APO, apparently ready to spill the beans on Prophet Five. Draw your own conclusions there. I'm out of the loop on Sloane's dealings because he hasn't shown his face to me since that one meeting we had a month into my stay in solitary._

_Now, you might have wondered why I'm being so aggressively prosecuted for beating up a career criminal. Now is the part where I explain that._

_Sark had come to APO and had guarantees of his protection and safety. I violated that. He was also defenseless, having been handcuffed. As I also understand it, the CIA is taking the stance that the titanium bones in my right hand present something of a lethal weapon. _

_I'm also being prosecuted aggressively because of those truths that Director Chase had conjured up about my rampage after the death of Matt Aguero, a fellow agent and friend of mine in the Anti-Cartel._

_Mateo "Matt" Hernando Aguero was a former gangbanger from El Paso, Texas. Sort of like you, much of his teen years were spent filled with crime. He participated in numerous drug deals, robberies and gangland slayings before Eduardo Munoz, my former Anti-Cartel director and current attorney, plucked him out of prison, also like you._

_Me and Matt were both in the original recruiting class and were both assigned to work under Mitch Hayes, the man I later killed to get my Rambaldi document (which also is a reason I'm being prosecuted heavily). Mike Walcott, my good friend from Storm Crew, came along a year later and joined our team in the Anti-Cartel._

_Matt quickly became like a brother to me. His good nature hid his rough upbringing and former gang life. He was very helpful in helping me understand gang mentality. You can also thank him for my ability to speak Spanish!_

_I was the best man at his wedding, and eight months after the wedding, his wife Rachel gave birth to Matt Aguero Jr, his first born. He couldn't have been any happier with how his life was going._

_Three months after his son is born, we were sent to Campeche in southern Mexico, the home to the Lobos Rabiosos gang. They were still relatively small-time, but had been making a lot of noise as of late because of their brutal, aggressive nature of doing business. Our job was to gather intel on them._

_One day, Matt is sent in alone to do surveillance on their compound. However, he was discovered and captured._

_A day passes and we're trying to figure out how we can extract him. As we're exploring our options, we get a knock on the door of our hotel room, followed by the sound of footsteps running off down the hallway._

_I quickly answer the door and find Matt curled up in the fetal position, fighting for his life._

_His left arm was cut off. So were his legs up to his knees. His face was scarred and ruined after acid was thrown on it. That was after they beat his face and caused multiple facial and skull fractures and numerous broken teeth. His fingernails were ripped out...presumably in both hands before they cut the left arm off. There were multiple stab wounds throughout his body. His spine was shattered. And, as if that wasn't enough, he would tell us that they castrated him._

_We gently picked him up and set him on our bed. He was destroyed, and the humane thing would have been to kill him when they were done. But he was only allowed to live so he could send a message to us: Don't mess with the Lobos._

_He then asked for a gun so he could kill himself. He didn't want his family to see him like that and he just wanted the pain to be over._

_I handed him my gun. He grabbed it with his lone hand and looked up to me and said the following words: _"_Make them suffer."_

_And before I could turn away, my good friend put my gun in his mouth and blew his brains out on the wall behind him._

_It was at that moment that me and Mike Walcott both agreed that we needed to strike back at the Lobos Rabiosos, but Mitch, our team leader, wouldn't have it._

_So, we went back with Matt's body and had his funeral in El Paso. His wife was devastated when she heard the news about what happened to him and asked if anything was going to be done to the gang that tortured him._

_Later that night, me and Mike went rogue and returned to Campeche to take care of business. _

_In the three weeks it took to complete our mission, we hid out in my safehouse in Campeche, the very safehouse I told you about when I told you about my money from raids that I was skimming. You could have spent months looking for us, but the place is so secret, you wouldn't have ever found us. _

_A source close to the Lobos told us that it was actually the leader of the Lobos, Francisco Alvarado, that did most of the damage on Matt. Locating him was hard, so we just did unto others what they would do onto us if they could: We kidnapped Lobos gang members one by one and tortured them using just one of the methods they used on Matt until we found a gang member willing to give up their leader._

_We attacked each person's strengths. If you were fast, you got a leg cut off. If you were strong, you got your arms cut off. If you were good with a gun, off went your hands. If you were handsome, we destroyed your face either by fists, blunt objects, acid, or some combination of the three. Matt was returned to us a broken, worthless man, and we wanted each and every gang member we encountered to have a taste of what Matt felt before he took his own life. And we wanted the entire gang to see what we had done so we could send a message back to them: The suffering stops when Francisco Alvarado is in our custody._

_Finally, the man that tried to kill me in prison, Jorge Campos, gave up his boss after we cut off his leg._

_We captured Alvarado shortly after Campos ratted him out and, while we tortured him, we enlisted the help of a rival gang to wipe the crippled and disorganized Lobos off the map._

_Alvarado was given the same treatment Matt got. However, he had the lucky fortune of dying before we could do everything on the list that he did to Matt._

_After he died, I pulled a page out of Medieval England's playbook. When William Wallace, the great Scottish knight, was killed, the Brits cut up his body into pieces and sent them to every corner of Scotland as a warning to anyone that would dare cross them._

_So, if you were a cartel or gang that we had our eyes on, you got a body part of Francisco Alvarado, along with a warning to cease operations, lest you suffer the same fate as Alvarado at the hands of Halcón Diablo, the nickname the Lobos had given me during my rampage._

_I must have tortured and killed at least two-dozen Lobos members before they were wiped away. And I didn't even have the tiniest amount of regret about it at the time. That came later._

_After we returned to the Anti-Cartel, we were arrested. However, Eduardo Munoz got us out and let us off with a 3 month suspension with pay, using the justification that we did destroy a gang that was causing us a lot of headaches. He also swept my torture methods under the rug, although Director Chase has apparently unearthed them since then._

_After I returned to the field, I carried the Halcón Diablo moniker everywhere with me in Latin America. No one dared cross me._

_What those gangbangers don't know is that I haven't gone back to that level of brutality. In fact, it still troubles me to this day what I did to those people, whether they had it coming or not. It also troubles me to recall how I had no sense that what I was doing was wrong. I was just hellbent on getting Matt the justice he deserved._

_So, that, along with the murder of Mitch Hayes, is why Director Chase wants to throw the book at me. I'm not being charged with Hayes' murder because he was already officially declared dead when his double was found in the Torino rubble. But, she can charge me with my attack on Sark._

_It's also because of those crimes and my current incarceration that, no matter what happens with my case, I am not returning to APO. I have seen and endured too much hardship and pain to have any desire to be an agent anymore. Sovogda, and my arrest afterwards, was my tipping point. I don't think Chase is going to give me much choice in the matter, but even if I did have a choice, I'm done._

_Anyway, I felt it would be better to say everything in a letter, not just so I can organize my thoughts, but also so you can make an informed decision on whether you still want to marry me or not._

_I failed you in Sovogda and I live with that regret every single day of my life. And now, you know why some people view me as a monster. I'm not that man anymore, and I live with that regret every day as well._

_The main reason I wrote you this letter is so that, if we do get married, you'll know the man you're going to be with. You've come clean to me about your rough past, and the Matt Aguero story was the only thing I've withheld from you. If we go forward with our relationship, I don't want any more secrets between us. Secrets and lies have been a part of your life for far too long, and you don't deserve any more, especially from the man that you love and trust._

_I also want you to understand just what you mean to me. Before my friend Matt was married, he told me how his fiancee was his salvation. Everything that he was melted away when he was with her, and Rachel filled him with so much happiness and joy in his life. Well, you have the same effect on me. You're the salvation that I've been seeking my whole life, and I cherish just the mere thought of you every second of my days._

_I do realize, however, that you might want to break things off with me after you read this. I broke my promise to protect you and I realize that my actions after Matt Aguero's death might completely turn you off. I'm also going to be in prison for 10 years, in all likelihood, unless the video of the interrogation of Sark somehow gets uncorrupted and Sark himself changes his testimony between now and when my trial starts. I don't know how either can be done at this point. _

_But know this: I miss you. I miss your smile. I miss your laugh. I miss your humor. I miss your cooking. I miss your loving touch. I miss your perfume. I miss you wearing my old shirts. I just miss your love in general. My heart aches for you every single day._

_In short, I just flat out miss you. And I love you. I love you so much. I always have loved you, and I will never stop loving you. I just hope you love me still. But if you don't, I understand._

_Let Sydney know if you want to see me or not._

_Tom Falk_

Tom finishes reading over his letter and now, finally feels satisfied over what he wrote. He folds it up and puts it in his pocket with his picture of Nadia and lies down on the bed. As he stares at the ceiling, he hopes that Nadia still loves him after this...and that she finally puts Sloane out of her life for good.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nadia's hospital room<strong>_

Tom and Sydney sit next at Nadia's bedside, as they've done so many times in the past 10 months. Tom takes a deep sigh and says "I want you to have this..."

Tom pulls out the letter he wrote to Nadia and hands it to Sydney. "I want you to hold on to this and give it to Nadia when she is cured." Sydney looks at the bundle of paper and asks "What is it?"

Tom replies "It's a letter I wrote for her, and it's personal, so I'd appreciate if you didn't read it. When she's cured, don't come and get me right away. I want her to decide if she still wants to be in my life." Sydney looks confused. "Why wouldn't she?"

Tom looks back at Nadia and closes his eyes. "Because...it's complicated. Give her the letter, and let her decide if she wants me to see her or not." Sydney nods and puts the letter in her inside pocket in her coat.

As she does, Tom notices Sydney's stomach and smiles. "Looks like you're losing weight pretty quickly." Sydney smiles and says "Yeah, I've been trying to get rid of all this baby weight! I'm so out of shape, it's ridiculous!"

Tom laughs and says "Well, I'll get you on my prison workout plan!" Sydney quickly replies "Yeah, you're looking toner every time I see you!"

Tom smiles and says "People always told me I could afford to lose 10 to 15 pounds, so I did." Sydney smiles and says "Well, you look good."

Tom replies "Thanks. Speaking of looking good, how's Isabelle doing?" Sydney giggles a bit, then replies "She's just fine. She's a very sound sleeper at night, thank goodness. And everyone at work has been very helpful."

Tom nods and says "That's good, I can't wait to see her finally. Anyway, guess who I got to talk to the other day?" Sydney shrugs. "Who?"

Tom blankly replies "My mom." Sydney raises her eyebrows a bit. "Really? What all did she have to say?"

Tom shakes his head and says "It's because of her that I'm in prison. She worked out a deal with your mother to help her pursue The Horizon in exchange for 'helping me'. Well, her way of helping me was having Irina, through Gordon Dean, set me up to beat the holy shit out of Sark in order to get thrown into prison. She knew how I'd react when Sark antagonized me and exploited that." Sydney looks almost repulsed. "Why on earth would your mother do that to you?"

Tom replies "Well, apparently, she thought that I was doomed to be a drunk over what happened to Nadia. My father became a drunk after my mom died, and she thinks I take after him in that respect. So, she saw prison as a form of rehab for me, I guess. Oh, and apparently, she's become a Rambaldi apprentice herself, just like my ancestor Laurent L'Andre was. In fact, Rambaldi was the person I saw on the horse when I died and went to the afterlife." Sydney shakes her head in disbelief and says "It seems crazy that Rambaldi would still be influencing things from the grave."

Tom quickly replies "I know, but when I'm out of prison, I'm done with this prophecy shit. Ignorance will be bliss from now on. Oh, getting back to my mother, I also got confirmation that Sloane did want me killed. My mom saw the conversation he had with Jorge and said it was pretty obvious. Don't say anything to Nadia, let her read it for herself." Sydney replies "You wrote about that in the letter, I take it."

Tom nods. "Sloane committed genocide in Sovogda, and between that and all of the wretched shit he's done in his life, there's no way I'm going to let him walk free with the thing he wants most. He doesn't deserve it. I'm not saying I deserve Nadia either, but I just want her to be happy. And if she's happy with neither one of us in her life, so be it." Sydney gives Tom an understanding nod, but doesn't say anything.

Sydney then looks at her watch. "We have to get going." Tom nods and stands up and gives Nadia a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, beautiful. I always have, and I always will."

Then Tom follows Sydney out of the hospital room.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal Prison- two weeks later<strong>_

Tom finds himself back in the private meeting room, a little confused over why he's there. Eduardo has already visited today, and he just went to the hospital with Sydney yesterday.

His pre-trial is two days away. From what Eduardo Munoz, his attorney, tells him, Director Chase is not budging off of the maximum 10 year sentence for Tom. However, his mom did say that he's not going to be there for all 10 years. He wonders how that could be...

His thoughts are interrupted by Sydney Bristow walking in to the meeting room holding a hanger with a polo shirt and khakis on it.

Tom looks at her funny. "What's all that?" Sydney replies as she sits down "You're going to put these on and come with me to the hospital." Tom, a little confused, says "We just went to the hospital yesterday..."

Then, Sydney cuts Tom off with a smile. "Nadia's been cured."

Tom gasps in shock. He was not expecting this at all. He then manages to force a smile on his face amidst his shock and says "She's...ok?" Sydney nods. "She's just fine, almost like nothing ever happened. Arvin Sloane came up with a cure for her."

Tom looks away and shakes his head. He whispers "He wasn't bluffing..." Sydney looks at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

Tom looks back at Sydney and shakes his head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. Did you give her my letter?" Sydney nods again. "Yes, and she read it all."

Tom then leans forward quickly. "How did she react?" Sydney looks down. "She demanded that she see you immediately. She didn't say anything else."

Tom then asks "Was she upset?" Sydney stands up and hands Tom his clothes. "Come on, we have to go. Get dressed, I'll wait outside." Sydney then gets up and walks out of the room.

Tom notices Sydney dodged that question without answering. He immediately assumes she must have been upset.

The question is...what part of the letter was she upset about?

**END OF CHAPTER**


	27. Ch 26: The Price Of Freedom Part 1

**THE PRICE OF FREEDOM PART 1**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hospital<strong>_

Two vehicles pull up to the curbside of the entrance of the hospital: a car and a prison van. It's an overcast day, but the weather is otherwise pleasant.

Sydney Bristow steps out of the driver's side door of the car and walks over to the back of the prison van. A prison guard walks out of the driver's side door and walks back to open the back door, allowing Tom, in his blue polo shirt and khakis, to hop down from the back.

Sydney walks up beside Tom and hands him a bouquet of flowers and says "You can pay me back later." Tom beams as he grabs the flowers with his handcuffed hands. "Lilies! Nadia loves these!" Sydney smiles and says "I know. Now, let's go see her."

Tom takes a deep breath and starts walking towards the front door with Sydney and the guard in tow. However, before they get there, they see Arvin Sloane walk out of the front door in a huff.

Sloane spots them immediately and storms up towards their direction. Noticing the anger in Sloane's eyes, Sydney stands in front of Tom and cautiously says "Arvin..." Sloane ignores Sydney and walks around her, but then stops in front of Tom's face.

Tom looks at him with a look of intrigue, not intimidated by Sloane's look of rage. Plainly, he asks "Why the long face?" Sloane, in a full sneer, says "I really hope you're proud of yourself."

Tom smirks and says "I take it she didn't like the things I said about you in my letter." Sloane snap replies "My daughter wants nothing to do with me now. You went back on our agreement."

Sydney looks at the two confused, unaware of any 'agreements' between them. Tom, almost reveling in Sloane's anger, says "Our agreement stood as long as Nadia remained in a coma. Now that she's not, all bets are off. And don't forget, I never said I wouldn't tell her about your wish to have me whacked in prison." Sloane puts a finger up to Tom's face. "I already told you, I didn't mean to..."

Tom lets out a sarcastic "HA!", causing Sloane to stop. Tom then says "Next time you try to have someone killed, make sure the person doesn't have any connections to the afterlife, ok? My mom saw your conversation with Jorge. The intent was etched all over your face." Sloane looks down and sighs, unable to respond at first. Then, he looks back up at Tom with a look of sadness. "I spent months searching for a cure for Nadia. And now, it's all for nothing!"

Tom makes a mocking sad puppy face. "Aww, the career criminal who caused his daughter so much hardship and pain in her life is all sad because she hates him? Were you really expecting forgiveness from her, after all you did to her?" Sloane snaps back "I was expecting you to give me a chance. You had no right to throw me under the bus like that."

Tom looks over at Sydney real quick, then back at Sloane. "No. You're right, I didn't. But, you had no right to kidnap her and inject her with Rambaldi Fluid. You had no right to bail out on us and help construct a giant Mueller device in Russia, causing one of the biggest genocides in recorded history. You had no right to shoot your daughter in the back. And you definitely had no right to send someone to kill me!" Sloane looks away, Tom's words apparently having the effect of humbling him.

Tom then leans over and gets back in Sloane's face as he's turning away. "But hey, at least you're free. Despite all of your crimes and all of the bridge burning you've done to the people closest to you, you get to live out the rest of your life a free man. And if your asking yourself why you're so alone night in and night out, you needn't look any further than the face you see in the mirror. Emily, your wife, was collateral damage as a result of your actions. And now, you don't have Nadia, the one person left you hoped would give a flying crap about you. In the end, Arvin, you reap what you sow."

Sloane flashes Tom a look at that. Tom, unfazed, continues his rant. "And now, you're getting a taste of the medicine that Nadia had to drink for the first 25 years of her life. You're now abandoned, too. And I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you feel rather hollow right now. Well, good. Because all of this couldn't have happened to a nicer person."

Sloane looks back up at Tom with an angry scowl on his face. Then, all of the sudden, he smirks. "I didn't get around to asking her, but I assume you came clean to her about your past. How will it feel to be abandoned from the one thing you love the most yourself?" Tom replies "Above all else, I just want Nadia to be happy. And like I told you when we talked 8 months ago, if she doesn't want to be with me, there's no way in hell I want her in your life either. And, during my ample time to think about things, I did think about what she would do if I told her everything about me and everything about you. But you know what? I'm going to be in prison for a long time. So in the end, what do I have to lose?"

Sloane smirks and shakes his head. "You know you could have been out of prison a long time ago." Tom nods slowly. "I know. And I'm glad your little quest turned out not to be a wild goose chase. But, I hope you understand my unwillingness to work beside a man who wanted me dead not three weeks before trying to recruit me for his little adventure. Any remote chance of me working alongside you went up in flames when you sent Jorge on me. And you can keep denying all you want, but you know what you did."

Sloane pauses for a moment, then says "I know how you feel about Nadia, and you're lying to yourself if you think you have nothing to lose here. Having her toss you away, much like she did me, would destroy you. Now, she gave me no indication about where she stands with you because she was so upset with me, but if she doesn't want me in her life, why would she want you with all the skeletons in your closet?" Tom quickly replies "Because unlike you, I never hurt her. That's the difference between you and me, and that's the chance I was willing to take."

Sloane takes a deep breath and looks over at Sydney, who's been listening intently the whole time. "What do you think?" Sydney shakes her head. "This doesn't concern me, Arvin..." Sloane cuts her off. "You've been visiting this man weekly in prison, providing him both food and visitation rights to Nadia. Clearly, you must have an opinion on the quality of person Tom Falk is."

Sydney looks over at Tom, who is looking back at her curious. Come to think of it, Tom realizes that Sydney has been rather mum on the issues between him and Sloane.

Sydney then looks back at Sloane with a serious look on her face. "When I was lying buried in a coffin in Cuba, it was Tom Falk that raced down and saved me. I owe him my life for that. And also..." Sydney then looks over at Tom. "...because with him, I always know where I stand. I trust him and I think he's a good man. He also loves my sister more than anything, and he would never hurt her." Tom cracks a small smile at her kind words, but doesn't say anything.

Sloane looks back at Tom with a serious look on his face. He goes to say something, but he then decides against it. He can't find the words anymore. He has no more angles to play.

Sloane then just walks off towards the parking lot, leaving Tom, Sydney, and the prison guard to watch him walk away, holding his head down and looking like a defeated man.

Sydney then turns back to Tom as he gazes out at him blankly. Sydney tells him "Let's go. Nadia's waiting for you." Tom turns back to her and nods and follows her in the hospital.

The three board an elevator and Sydney pushes the button for the floor Nadia is on. After the door closes, a now-troubled Tom looks over at Sydney and asks "Sydney, did I do the right thing?"

Sydney looks at him confused. "What do you mean?" Tom replies "The letter. Sloane was right, I do have everything to lose here. I don't want Nadia to hate me..."

Sydney looks down at Tom's hands and he's trembling. She puts her left hand on Tom's right wrist to stop the shaking. With fear etched all over his face, Tom looks down at Sydney's hand, then back at her. Sydney smiles and says "You were right. Sloane did reap what he sowed. As for your past, when Vaughn came clean to me about his double life, I appreciated his honesty, and I realized what really was going on. I hope, for both your sakes, that Nadia thinks like I do in that regard."

Tom looks away and takes a deep breath, a little relieved she said that. Then, turning back at her, he says "Sydney, you've done so much for me with the visits, meals, and today with the clothes and the lilies. You didn't have to do any of that. But, if Nadia decides I'm out of her life, you don't have to keep visiting me. I'll serve my prison sentence and I'll find some way to move on with my life afterwards." Sydney pats Tom on the back. "I'm going to forget you said that, because I think Nadia's going to stick with you."

Tom nods a little sheepishly, then turns down and looks at his handcuffs. "I know it's been protocol to have my handcuffs on throughout my visit, but could you make an exception? I don't want Nadia to see me with handcuffs." Sydney looks back at the prison guard and says "Take his cuffs off."

The prison guard does just that as the elevator stops at its floor. A 'ding' goes off and the door opens. Tom looks out at the hallway in front of him and takes another deep breath, trying to compose himself. Sydney then says "Turn left when you walk out, she's in the very first room you'll see."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nadia's hospital room<strong>_

Nadia takes a deep, long breath, trying to compose herself. She had just completely melted down in front of her father, and she knows that Tom and Sydney are due in her hospital room at any time.

She has lived with betrayal all her life, and she realizes that she should be used to it by now. But she's not. She looks down at the letter that Tom wrote for her, lying on her lap. She picks it up and starts reading over it again, trying to make sense of it all.

And then, she hears the 'ding' of the elevator door outside her room. She sets down the letter and looks out the door, hopeful that Sydney has returned with Tom.

The elevator door opens, and after a few seconds, she sees Tom walk out the door with Sydney and a prison guard in tow.

Her first reaction is one of curiosity. If there wasn't a prison guard there, Tom would look like he was a free man. He's walking in normal street clothes with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

And then she studies Tom's face as he walks toward the room. She immediately notices that his look is one of fear and worry.

As she studies him, Tom looks up and, for the first time since Sovogda, locks eyes with the love of his life. Immediately, he forms a smile on his face, happy to see Nadia's eyes are open and looking back at him.

As he approaches the doorway, Sydney looks at the guard and says "Stand outside the room, I'll stay with Tom." The guard nods and stands outside the door.

Tom then walks into the room, with Sydney closing the door right behind him. He stops a few steps in from the door and suddenly notices that Nadia isn't smiling back at him. His smile disappears, thinking that Nadia is upset at him, too.

However, he looks at Nadia's left hand and sees his engagement ring is still on her hand, and the fact that she's not taking it off and flinging it at him gives him some hope.

Tom looks down at the ground for a bit, unsure what to make of this. Finally, he hears Nadia say "Hey, come over here."

Tom looks up and sees Nadia motioning with her hand for him to come over to her bedside. Tom, with lilies still in hand, slowly makes his way to her bedside. He can't help but be a little afraid that his head is going to get ripped off.

As he stands next to Nadia, he says "I know what I said in the letter..." Nadia holds up her hand and blankly says "Stop."

Tom does just that. Nadia then sits up so she can be closer to Tom's face. In a serious tone, she says "After what I read in your letter, there's only one thing I can say to you right now."

Tom gulps, bracing for what's about to come. Nadia keeps her serious glare at Tom...and then, all of the sudden, Nadia cracks a wide smile and says...

"You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried!"

Tom's eyes open wide out of surprise and he starts beaming. Then, at the same time, they each grab the back of each other's heads and pull each other in close for a kiss...and another...and another. The make-out session feels like it lasts an eternity for both of them.

Finally, after a good 20 seconds, Nadia releases and emphatically says "Oh, and hey, handsome!" Tom, now literally floating on a cloud, fires back "Hey, beautiful!"

Nadia giggles at that. Tom, still glowing, says "I love when you do that." Nadia, still smiling, asks "Do what?" Tom replies "Smile. I've missed it all these months. You have no idea how happy you're making me right now!" Nadia smiles even wider as they stare at each other longingly.

Tom then hands Nadia the flowers. "White lilies, just what you like." Nadia giggles again as she grabs the flowers and smells them. She looks back at Tom and happily says "They smell so beautiful, thank you!"

Tom looks back at Sydney, who's sitting near the door and looks almost giddy over what she's seeing. Tom tells Nadia "Your sister was kind enough to pick those up on my behalf." Nadia looks over at Sydney and says "Thank you...not just for this, but for everything you've done for Tom."

Sydney smiles wide and says "No problem!" Tom then looks back at Nadia and says "Sydney has been helping take care of our apartment, getting my mail, paying your bills, and now I owe her for those flowers..." Sydney cuts Tom off with a grin "It's ok, I know you're good for it!"

Tom grins, then grabs a chair and slides it over to Nadia's side. As he's sitting, he says "Nadia, you don't know the weight that just lifted off my shoulders just now. You still love me..." Nadia cuts Tom off and understandingly says "Tom, I don't blame you at all for what happened to me in Sovogda. I should have ran beside you to the subway car, and I didn't. That was my fault. But you're right to blame my father for my coma..." Nadia then forms a furious look on her face. "...and GOD DAMN HIM for wanting you dead!"

Tom looks a little surprised at her outburst, then looks down. "That must have been what Sydney said you were so upset about." Nadia looks at Tom a little confused. "She said that?"

Sydney then says "It just seemed like the letter troubled you in some way." Nadia then looks down at the letter and says "My father's actions were a big part of it, but the fact that you're in prison, Tom..."

Tom nods and says "Yeah, the whole thing was a set-up, and I can't prove a damn thing because the one person who can, my mother, is in the afterlife." Nadia looks back at Tom and says "You mentioned that your mom set you up. What happened?"

Tom sighs and says "After Sydney destroyed the Mueller device, my mother talked to your mother. In exchange for her helping Irina track down The Horizon, she asked Irina Derevko to send Julian Sark over to APO so he can get the absolute horseshit beat out of him by me. Sark did nothing but provoke me to attack him. Now, as far as I know, he's not a masochist, so I don't think he was expecting the beating he received. However, the reason my mom served him up on a platter for me is because she knew I would get sent to prison over the reasons I already explained in the letter. My mother didn't think I'd survive all these months you were in a coma, and she thought my best chance at avoiding self-destruction was prison." Nadia looks down and shakes her head. "I can't believe she'd do that, much less help Irina...Sydney told me what she's been doing..."

Tom then says "Well, I told my mom to never speak to me again until I'm dead. She's in league with Rambaldi in the afterlife and has been nothing but a bearer of bad news when she speaks to me. Nadia, I want us to be happy forever, and to do that, I don't want her, or any of this prophecy bullshit, in our lives anymore." Nadia looks back at Tom and replies "I agree, I'm done with Rambaldi, too. I want us to live out our lives and be happy, too. It's just a shame about your mother. She seemed so nice..."

Tom shrugs and says "I'm sure you thought Elena was nice too when you were growing up." Nadia sighs and says "Please don't mention her again."

Tom nods, but then stands up. "Well, Elena did provide me with the one thing that kept me sane throughout my time in solitary." Tom then pulls out the picture of him and Nadia in Argentina and hands it to her. Nadia unfolds the picture and smiles at what she sees. "I'll never forget that day. You looked so different with your goatee!"

Tom laughs a bit and says "Well, you still look as beautiful as you did that day." Nadia looks back at Tom, touched that he'd say that. "Thank you. You're always so sweet to me!"

Nadia then flips the picture over to the back. She sees Tom has crossed out the parts that say 'The Passenger and The Caretaker' and wrote 'Nadia and Tom' on top of the crossed out words. As she smirks at that, Tom says "We're more than role players in a prophecy." Nadia looks back at Tom and says "I agree. We're two fools in love!"

Tom smiles wide at that, and then grabs the picture from Nadia when she's done with it and puts it back in his pocket. He then starts looking a little concerned again. "Nadia, what did you think when I described what I did after Matt Aguero died?" Before Nadia can respond, Sydney asks "What did happen there, Tom? If you don't mind me asking..."

Tom gets up and grabs the letter from Nadia's lap and hands it to Sydney. "You can read it now. I start talking about Matt about halfway down. I'd rather not have to unearth that whole ordeal ever again." Sydney nods as she starts thumbing through the pages to get to the right spot.

Meanwhile, Nadia says "It sounds like you and Matt were close..." Tom nods as he sits back down. With a noticeable hint of remorse in his voice, he says "He was like a brother to me. And when I saw his body ravaged like that, something in me...snapped. I had to get vengeance. I'm glad I was successful, but I'm not proud of what I did to get there." Nadia then reaches over and grabs Tom's hand. "I understand what you went through. Remember, I'm not perfect either. I don't think any less of you because I know that's not how you are."

Tom smiles and says "Thank you for saying that. That part of my life wasn't easy for me to write about. I spent about 8 months trying to figure out if and how I was going to say it to you. But, like I said in the letter, you don't deserve any more lies and secrets in your life. You've been honest with me, and you deserve honesty in return." Nadia smiles and says "I appreciate it. I can always count on you...that's one of the reasons I still love you so much!"

Tom looks at her a little funny and playfully asks "Do I want to know the other reasons?" Nadia giggles and says "Not while my sister is in the room!"

Sydney looks up from reading the letter and looks at Nadia playfully offended. "Nadia!" Nadia laughs and says "Well, I can't, it's personal! Maybe when we get a private moment..." Tom sits down and says "They give me a private room in prison, at least."

Nadia now looks serious and says "About that...you say that your interrogation video is corrupted and Sark won't tell the truth." Tom nods and says "Yeah. I'm confident the video can be fixed. My Storm Crew friend David Marston has told me he probably could get it functional if he got a hold of it, but my attorney won't release it to him because David is still with the CIA and it'd be a conflict of interest. As for Sark, it would appear he's being stubborn. I guess he must be bitter, despite being set-up himself. I'm not sure if he knows that, though."

Nadia then looks at Sydney and asks "Where is Sark being held?" Sydney looks up from reading the letter and says "He's at an assisted living facility in LA, milking the taxpayers money for all it's worth. He's working on getting his motor skills back from a stroke he suffered while he was in a coma."

Nadia looks back at Tom a little concerned. "A stroke? What did you do to him?" Tom sighs and says "From what I remember, multiple skull fractures, bleeding on the brain, concussion, broken left orbital bone, broken nose, broken jaw, 18 broken or knocked out teeth, and 64 stitches. The stroke is a malpractice issue that came along later and is not related to the damage I caused. But, I didn't want him dead. I was still upset over what happened in Sovogda and I just wanted him to pay for what he said about you."

Nadia then asks "What did he say?" Tom shakes his head. "I can't repeat it. It was too sickening. You don't need to hear that."

Nadia sighs a bit, then looks at Sydney. "I'd like to talk to him." Sydney shakes her head. "You can't. Only Tom's attorney, Director Chase, and CIA prosecutors have been permitted access to him. He's under 24 hour guard...two guards are stationed outside his door at all times...another request of his."

Nadia then looks back over at Tom. "When is your trial?" Tom says "My pre-trial hearing is in two days, and my trial is next week. Chase still wants to give me 10 years in prison, and quite frankly, I don't have a lot of ammo on my side to prevent that."

Nadia now looks determined. "You can't go to prison for 10 years...there has to be a way..." Sydney asks "A way for what?"

Nadia pauses for a bit, then looks at Sydney. "Sydney, would a copy of that video still be at APO?" Sydney nods. "Yeah, Marshall keeps the security video files in his office."

Nadia thinks some more, and then says "Syd, is there a way you could get me that video file?" Sydney shakes her head. "If I get caught trying to pull a video from a pending case, I'd be fired, or worse!"

Nadia sits up and says "But Sydney, Tom is about to be locked up for..." Sydney cuts her off. "Ok, say I get the video file, what about Sark? You can't get to him."

Nadia flops back in her bed and takes a deep, defeated sigh. "I can't believe this is happening..." Tom grabs Nadia's hand gently. "You can still visit me in prison...

Nadia looks over and worriedly says "No! This can't happen! I want you to be with me! I'm going to marry you!" Tom, now saddened over Nadia's concern, says "And I want to be with you more than anything. But, I have to serve my time. I've already built up nearly a year's worth of time served, that means I'll be in prison for 9 years max...maybe parole earlier."

Nadia then wipes some tears away that formed during that exchange, sits back up and says "Lean forward." Tom leans forward and turns his right ear towards Nadia. Nadia then whispers "I'm going to get you out. I will FIND a way to get you out."

Tom, now concerned, turns and starts whispering back to Nadia. "Nadia, you still have a career, and it would be too difficult..." Nadia, refusing to hear this, turns and forces Tom's head to the side and whispers tersely "Nothing is too difficult if you want it bad enough! I love you, Tom! And I want to marry you! And I don't want to wait for you to get out from something you're not guilty of!"

Tom then turns back to Nadia's ear and whispers "I've been trying to argue that what I did was aggravated assault, and under that sentencing range, I would likely get out with time served. But, Chase is not going to budge..." Nadia then yanks Tom's head over again, causing Tom to grab his neck and yell "OW!"

Nadia winces as she leans in and whispers "Sorry! But if the video is fixed and Sark changes his testimony, then you can get out!" Sydney, now curious over this, well, curious exchange, asks "What's going on, guys?"

Tom looks back over at her and says "Remember those things that Nadia likes about me that she didn't want to say in your presence?" Sydney, not fully buying that, just says "Oh..."

The prison guard standing outside of the room opens the door and says "It's time for him to go back." Tom and Nadia both look at him with a look of total trepidation, and then back at each other.

Tom lightly touches Nadia's face and says "I love you, beautiful. I always have, and I always will." Nadia, with tears forming again in her eyes again at the prospect of losing him, puts her arms around Tom's neck and says "I love you, handsome!"

Tom and Nadia then share a long kiss...and another...and another. They don't want the moments they have with each other to end.

The guard, a little impatient, says "Let's go!" Tom and Nadia release their kiss and look at each other longingly, both afraid of leaving each other after being away from each other for so long.

Nadia then whispers "I will get you out!" Sydney hears this and looks at her concerned. Tom smiles and says "Good luck. I love you." Nadia quickly replies "I love you, too. And I always have, and I always will, too! I don't want to let you go!"

With a very sad look on his face, Tom pulls Nadia's hands apart from the back of his neck. As he turns and walks towards the door, Sydney tells him "I'm going to stay with Nadia, Tom." The guard says "If that's the case, I have to put on his handcuffs."

Tom just sticks his arms out as the cuffs are put on. The sight of this causes Nadia to weep a bit. Tom hears her sob and looks back with tears in his eyes now, saddened that she's hurt over this.

The guard then escorts Tom out of the room. They walk up to the elevator and the guard presses the down button. Unfortunately for Tom, the door opens right away, cutting short any remaining seconds he has to look back at Nadia. He looks back at Nadia and sees that she's completely broken down. He closes his eyes and fights back the tears as he's then walked into the elevator...and out of Nadia's sight.

Back in the hospital room, Nadia is crying her eyes out. Sydney looks troubled over seeing Nadia like this and walks up to her and gives her a hug. The hug is returned by Nadia, who continues to cry her eyes out over the prospect of Tom's pending prison sentence.

Nadia finally calms down after a little while and releases the hug. Sydney releases as well and says "I wish there was something I can do..." Nadia turns from her and starts staring off into space, contemplating something. After a few seconds, Sydney asks "What is it?"

Nadia wipes off some tears and looks back up at Sydney. "They're releasing me first thing in the morning tomorrow." Sydney nods. "I know. I'll let you stop by my place and see Isabelle..."

Nadia cuts her off intently. "No. I want to see Isabelle with Tom." Sydney looks at her funny, taken aback that she'd say that. Nadia then says "You can do something else for me." Sydney asks "What?" Nadia replies "You can give me a ride to APO the day after tomorrow, the day of his pre-trial. I'm going back to work."

Sydney looks shocked at this. "Nadia, you just got better!" Nadia quickly replies "I need to be at APO in order to get Tom's video file. And I need your help with that."

Sydney sits back, astounded at what she's hearing. "The video isn't going to be enough..." Nadia nods. "I know. I have to get to Sark."

Sydney sighs and says "How? If you're caught trying to do all of this..." Nadia cuts her off intently. "Remember, I was recruited by Roberto Fox because of my ability to get in and out of situations undetected. I can pull this off."

Sydney then folds her arms. "Ok, how are you going to get by Sark's guards?" Nadia thinks for a bit, then says "I don't know, but I'll think of something."

Sydney sighs and says "Look, I might be able to help you retrieve the video, but I can't help you with Sark." Nadia smiles and grabs Sydney's arm. "I appreciate all that you can do."

Sydney cracks a small smile. "Tom's my friend, too. I just don't want to see you lose your job over this." Nadia shakes her head. "As I said, let me worry about that. And I'll make sure you're not held liable, either."

Nadia then looks down at her stomach and asks "Could you do something else for me?" Sydney says "Sure, what do you need?" Nadia replies "Could you get me something to eat? Anything would be good after all these months!"

Sydney smiles and says "Absolutely. I'll be right back." Sydney then bolts out of the room on a quest to get Nadia something to eat.

Nadia takes a deep breath and lies back down on her bed. Immediately, she starts racking her brain over how she's going to pull this caper off.

First of all, she's going to have to get Sydney to distract Marshall long enough for her to pull the video from his office. And then, she's going to have to get David over to Los Angeles from Baltimore to work his magic...

Suddenly, Nadia exclaims "THAT'S IT!"

Nadia smiles wide. The first phase of her plan, getting the video file, is set. And the second phase, getting to Sark, just came together. She realizes that her and Sydney aren't the only friends Tom has.

She has to call in the Storm Crew.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's apartment, early next morning<strong>_

Nadia opens the door to her and Tom's apartment for the first time since the Sovogda mission. Sydney follows behind as she walks in.

The last time we left Tom's apartment, it was a complete mess. Beer bottles, liquor bottles, pizza boxes, clothes...the place looked like a bomb went off in it. It also smelled like a stink bomb went off in it because of Tom's lack of self respect over his hygiene while he drank his days away.

Thankfully, Sydney cleaned things up, just as she promised Tom she would. She doesn't tell Nadia that, though. She doesn't need to know what all Tom went through unless he feels like telling her.

Nadia immediately notices the cleanliness of the place and says "Thanks for checking on the place while we were away." Sydney smiles and says "No problem. And good job on the paint!"

Nadia looks at the orangish-red walls that her and Tom painted and asks "You didn't see this place before the Sovogda mission?" Sydney shakes her head. "No, I was only here once or twice, when the walls were white. I love the color selection!"

Nadia smiles and says "Thanks. He had picked out three colors from the hardware store and this one just seemed...right." Sydney says "It must have been a fun project for you two."

Nadia looks back at the walls and says "Yeah, we both enjoyed working on it. He was a little rattled over Elena's files, but I could tell he enjoyed working with me just as I enjoyed working with him." Sydney nods and says "Listen, about tomorrow..."

Nadia looks over at her quickly as Sydney says "What is your plan?" Nadia replies "I need you to distract Marshall...say you need some help with your computer..." Sydney smirks and says "I actually have been having an issue with sending emails lately."

Nadia smiles and says "Good. Use that. While you do that, I'll go in and put the video file on a USB drive. I still need to figure out how I'm going to leave with the file..." Sydney cuts her off and says "You could faint."

Nadia looks at her funny at first, and then realizes where she's coming from. "I just came out of a 11 month coma...fainting would seem like a normal thing to do." Sydney smiles and says "You faint, and everyone will think you came back too early. I'll walk you out of APO, and drive you to wherever you're going to meet with David."

Nadia says "Good! When I get the video uncorrupted, I'll need you to drop off the file to Director Chase. Say you received the video from an anonymous source." Sydney nods her head quickly. "Right! The file logs said Gordon Dean had made a second copy of the video, probably for himself to maybe hold as leverage over Tom at some point. If I'm asked where I got it from, I'll bring that up."

Nadia smiles wide and gives Sydney a hug. "Thank you so much for helping!" Sydney, still hugging, says "I hope this works. After all, you need me to be your maid of honor at your wedding, and I'd like to see you two get married sooner than later!"

Nadia releases the hug and looks down at her engagement ring. "I know, and I think he'd like that, too. I've made him wait long enough." Sydney looks down at the ring with Nadia and says "Listen, is there anything else I can do for you before I go?"

Nadia looks at Sydney and shakes her head. "You've done plenty already. Thank you so much for everything." Sydney smiles and says "No problem. I'll call you later!"

Nadia says "Ok!" as Sydney turns to the front door and walks out. As the door closes, Nadia quickly walks to the kitchen and starts looking for Tom's cell phone. It's not there.

She then runs into the bedroom and finds it on a charger on the dresser. She runs over and opens the phone up and looks through his contact lists until he finds "David Marston".

She presses the green button on Tom's phone to dial the number automatically, and then puts the phone to her ear. After some rings, David answers. "Tom?"

Nadia says "No, it's Nadia." David exclaims "Nadia! You're...talking! You're ok! That's great!"

Nadia laughs a bit and says "Yes, I was cured yesterday. Anyway, I'm back home and I need your help. Can you and Mike be in Los Angeles by tomorrow morning?" David quickly says "Sure, we could be there this afternoon, actually. Why, what's going on?"

Nadia, with a determined look on her face, says "We're getting my fiance out of prison."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	28. Ch 27: The Price Of Freedom Part 2

**THE PRICE OF FREEDOM PART 2**

_aka "The All Nadia, All The Time" chapter!_

_Note: Another longer-than-usual chapter._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Apartment<strong>_

It's nighttime and Nadia buzzes around the kitchen, putting away groceries. In the past 11 months, Sydney was kind enough to throw away anything that might have spoiled by now. Unfortunately, that meant a very depleted cabinet when Nadia returned home.

When she got back, all Nadia had available to eat was some cans of corn, peas, and one lone can of clam chowder. There also was two lonely bottles of water in the fridge and some meat in the freezer that probably is still good...if they're not freezer-burned to death.

In her first full day back as a conscious woman, Nadia finds that she's feeling pretty well. She's still a bit achy from lying still all those months, but as she moves around, she finds that she's feeling better and better.

Tom called her first thing in the morning, not a half hour after she got home. He couldn't wait to talk to her and make sure she's home and ok. She didn't say anything to him about her plan...just in case someone else was listening to their conversation. Still, she was just as happy to hear his voice as he was hers.

Tom asked her not to come visit him in prison. This confused her at first, but Tom said that he didn't want her to see him in prison clothes, especially if what she has planned works out. After seeing her break down yesterday over his handcuffs, he didn't want to hurt her anymore if he didn't have to.

Sydney also checked on her earlier in the day and confirmed that tomorrow's plan at APO is indeed a go. Everything is set up and ready.

As Nadia finishes putting away the groceries, she thinks about what's going to go down the next day. Mike and David arrived in Los Angeles earlier in the day and they stopped by a while ago to go over the plan. They both seemed pretty comfortable with it. They also were happy to see Nadia alive and well.

Earlier in the day, Nadia was able to scout the hospice Sark is in. She was relieved to find that security, besides the two guards outside Sark's door, is minimal at best. She was also able to secure the outfits they'll need to pull this off: a white nurse's outfit for her and two janitor outfits for them.

Nadia tosses away the plastic grocery bags and decides it's time for bed. You would think with all the rest she's gotten in the past 11 months that she'd be up all night, but she's still somewhat fatigued. Plus, she's going to need all the energy she can spare tomorrow.

Nadia walks into the bedroom, turning off the lights in the apartment as she goes. Normally, she would change into a nightgown. However, tonight was different.

She opens up the drawer and pulls out an old St. Louis Blues hockey shirt that belongs to Tom. She wore this shirt the first night she stayed at Tom's place...the night of her blown birthday party at Sloane's, and she fondly remembers Tom's delight over her choice of shirt to wear to bed. In fact, Tom's caring treatment of her that night and the following morning almost makes her forget everything else that happened at her party.

Nadia takes off her shirt and jeans and puts the Blues shirt on while leaving her undergarments on. She smiles as she looks at herself in the mirror.

She remembered in Tom's letter that he enjoyed when she wore his old shirts. And as she looks at herself in the mirror, Nadia's imagining him in bed, looking at her and admiring her wearing his old shirt. She loves seeing him happy as well.

In fact, it still amazes Nadia that she has the effect she has on him, even when she's not trying to impress him. No one wanted her when she was an orphan, but now, Tom loves and values her more than anything in this world. Throughout her childhood, she had hoped that her father would feel that way about her, but she'll happily accept Tom's love. His love for her is never in doubt, unlike Sloane's. And even though he's in prison, just knowing Tom's out there, thinking about her, makes her feel warm inside.

As she looks at herself in the mirror, she grabs some of her hair and examines it. Her hair got really long while she was in a coma. She's still not sure if she wants to keep it this long or not, and Tom has yet to mention anything about it. She decides she'll talk to Tom about it first before doing anything to it.

She flips the switch to turn off the overhead light, and then turns and walks over to the bed. She turns over the covers and lies down on the left side of the bed, her usual spot.

She turns out her bedside light, the last light on in the apartment. However, she doesn't fall asleep right away. She faces the right side of the bed, where Tom would normally sleep.

The moonlight from outside shines in through the window on the empty spot in bed, making it particularly stand out. Nadia feels sad over the fact that Tom isn't there next to her. Something about being around him just always felt so comforting.

Maybe it's because of 'The Connection', that Rambaldi device in their bloodstreams that interacts with their pheromones, going to work every time she was in his presence. However, Nadia prefers to think that her feelings for him are 100% natural, and that maybe the 'The Connection' was only meant for when they first met.

For instance, she knew she still loved him before he walked in to her hospital room yesterday. And Tom didn't need to be in the room for her to know that.

In fact, she knew that she still loved him in her heart when she woke up from her coma. The very first thing she did when she regained consciousness was call out to Tom. And later, after she had a chance to read Tom's letter, it was Sloane's apparent desire to have Tom murdered that caused her to completely blow her stack at him and disown him.

And now, as she lies next to the empty spot in bed Tom would normally fill, she reaches over and puts her hand on Tom's pillow, imagining his head is lying there. As she does this, she smiles and whispers "Tomorrow night, your head is going to be right there. I can't wait until you come home and lie beside me again. I love you, handsome, and I'm going to set you free."

Nadia then closes her eyes and goes to sleep, fully confident that her plan is going to work.

Her hand remains on Tom's pillow throughout the night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Office, the next day<strong>_

Sydney and Nadia stand outside the entrance to APO. Sydney is flipping the switches in the right order while Nadia holds her box of office supplies, keeping up appearances. Nadia has her hair up in a basic ponytail, and she's dressed for work in regular business attire.

Sydney looks over at Nadia as she progresses to another switch and asks "How are you feeling?" Nadia looks over and nervously says "Good."

Sydney notices the nerves in Nadia's voice. "Are you ok to go through with this?" Nadia takes a deep breath and smiles. "Absolutely."

Normally, Nadia wouldn't be nearly this nervous going into a mission. But, this time she's not going on a mission for business. This mission is for the freedom of the man she wants to marry.

Sydney smiles and says "Ok. Here we go." Sydney flips the last switch and the door to APO opens. They walk through the entrance and down the hallway that leads to the office floor.

Sydney and Nadia round the corner to the office floor. Nadia surveys her surroundings as she walks side-by-side with Sydney. She notices immediately that there's been some changes and new faces at APO. In fact, too much has changed for her...

Sydney breaks up her thought process by saying "We gave Rachel Gibson your old desk and Tom Grace has Tom's desk. You can sit next to me." Nadia looks over and smiles. "That would be fine."

Sydney and Nadia walk up to Nadia's new desk. Nadia sets down her box on the desk. Sydney then says "Come on, Marshall's been wanting to say hi."

Nadia follows Sydney around the corner towards Marshall's office. Before they can get to the office, Jack Bristow walks up to them. He smiles, seeing Nadia looking well. "Good to see you, Nadia. I'm glad you're feeling better." Nadia smiles back and says "Thanks Jack. I understand you checked up on me a lot while I was out."

Jack nods his head. "Yes...I did. How are you feeling? Are you sure you want to come back so early?" Nadia nods her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't mind desk duty for a while. I just want to be around this place if I can."

Jack nods and asks "How is Tom doing? Sydney has been giving me updates..." Nadia cuts him off and says "He's fine. He's a little worried about his trial coming up. But no matter what happens, I'm going to stick with him. I hope you come to our wedding."

Jack smiles again and says "I wouldn't miss it. Anyway, I'm glad you're back. A little later, we'll go over some of the things you've missed since you've been gone. Take all the time you need to get settled." Nadia nods and smiles. "Great, thanks." Jack then walks back towards his office.

Nadia looks over at Sydney and gives her a bit of a smirk, reassuring her sister that she's fit to do this. She didn't skip a beat during her conversation with Jack. Sydney smiles back and the two then walk to Marshall's office.

Marshall notices them immediately and exclaims "Nadia! Welcome back! Nice to see you, well, doing anything, actually!" Nadia smiles and says "Thanks Marshall. Sydney tells me you escorted Tom during some of his hospital visits. I appreciate that."

Marshall gives Nadia a sheepish smile and says "No problem...I mean, the guy's been in solitary for, what is it, 10 months now? I just wanted to help brighten his day and all...I know I'm not the best at chit-chatting, in fact, I'm probably, um, quite bad at it actually...ok...anyway, how is he?" Nadia, a bit amused at Marshall's awkwardness, says "He's doing fine, and he appreciates you helping out."

Marshall asks "I bet he was real happy to see you when you were cured...I mean, he would always say stuff like how he misses you and...well, that was the main thing, really. Anyway, I have your computer ready to go, so if you have any questions..." Sydney cuts him off. "Actually, I need you to look at my computer. Some of my emails aren't going through."

Marshall looks surprised. "Really? Rachel was having the same problem...can I come over in a bit?" Sydney, very insistently, says "I really would like this taken care of now."

Marshall awkwardly smiles and says "Ok, follow me!" Marshall walks by the sisters and Sydney follows. Nadia starts to follow behind them, then stops and goes back in Marshall's office.

She quickly scrambles over to one of Marshall's computers and opens up the file log. She scans the folders until she hits "6-18-05" She opens the folder and finds one lone video file in it, titled "Falk-Sark".

She opens up the video and makes sure the speakers are down. She scrolls through the first part of the video, which is very choppy and garbled, probably from the corruption. It's hard to make out anything. She raises the volume just a bit and notices the sound is garbled as well. And then, she watches the video and audio clear up when Tom completely snaps on Sark. Something about the timing when the choppiness ends seems a little...too convenient. She stops the video before she watches the whole beating.

She plugs her USB flash drive into the computer and copies the file onto the drive. As it's copying, she looks out the office at Sydney's desk and sees Marshall is focused entirely on what he's doing. Sydney looks back over and gives her a wink, which is returned by Nadia, confirming to each other that everything's proceeding ok.

Nadia looks back at the computer screen and waits until the file is finished being copied onto the drive. When it's done, she quickly pulls the drive out of the computer, closes all the windows and puts the drive in her pants pocket and casually walks out of the office.

She quickly looks around to see if anyone noticed her. No one has. Nadia continues to walk towards her desk as Marshall suddenly gets up from it, alarming her a bit, but not breaking her stride.

She hears Marshall tell Sydney "Ok, you should be good to go!" Sydney smiles and says "Thanks, Marshall." Marshall then turns to Nadia and casually asks "And where did you run off to?"

Nadia pauses and, a little irritated, says "That's none of your business, Marshall." Marshall stands there speechless. Finally, Sydney says "Marshall, that's woman code for 'I went to the bathroom'."

Marshall apologetically says "Oh...I'm so sorry...duh, I should have known...being married and all..." Nadia smiles a bit as she shakes her head. "No, it's ok. I sometimes have to remind Tom..."

And then suddenly, Nadia pauses. She grabs her chest and starts breathing heavily. She looks away and props her arm up on Sydney's desk, looking like she's trying to get her bearings.

As Sydney rounds the desk to tend to her, a concerned Marshall asks "Oh my goodness, are you ok?"

Nadia looks up at him, shaking and still breathing heavily and holding her chest, and then drops to the ground like a sack of flour.

It was a performance worthy of an Emmy.

Sydney squats over her and yells "Nadia!" This display now has the attention of the whole office. Jack comes racing out of his office and sees Nadia lying on the ground with her eyes closed.

Jack walks over quickly and asks "What happened?" Sydney frantically replies "I don't know, we were just talking and then she started losing her breath and fainted..."

As she says the word 'fainted', Nadia opens up her eyes slowly. She looks up at the ceiling and squints repeatedly, acting like she's trying to get her bearings again.

Jack stands over her and asks "Are you alright?" Nadia, sounding almost like a zombie, says "Yeah...what happened?" Sydney replies "You fainted."

Nadia forms a look of surprise on her face and says "Oh no..." She then sits up and looks around at the rest of the office looking at her concerned.

Sydney puts a hand on her back and says "Maybe you came back too soon. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital. Can you stand?" Nadia nods as she takes Sydney's hand and is helped up off the ground.

As she gets to her feet, she looks over at Jack and says "I'm so sorry..." Jack shakes his head. "Nothing to be sorry about. Take all the time you need to get better." Jack then looks at Sydney. "Call me later, let me know how she is." Sydney nods her head and says "I will."

Nadia, still acting disoriented, turns and goes to grab her box. Sydney stops her and says "Maybe I should carry that." Nadia groggily nods as Sydney grabs the box for her.

With the rest of the office looking on, Nadia braces herself on Sydney as they walk out of APO together.

Once they're out of the office, Nadia uses the walls and railings to keep her balance, knowing that APO probably has cameras in the subway area. She slowly follows Sydney up the subway stairs and out to street level.

As they get to the crosswalk to go to their garage, Sydney stops and turns to Nadia. She smiles wide and says "We're clear now." Nadia breathes a sigh of relief and asks "Do you think they bought it?"

Sydney nods and smiles. "Yeah, good acting in there!" Nadia smiles back and says "You too! And nice improvisation carrying my box out."

Sydney then asks "Did you get the video file?" Nadia nods as she pats her right leg, showing Sydney where it is. "Yeah, no problem." Sydney sarcastically says "Go sit on that bench over there, I'll swing by and pick you up...I'd hate to see you collapse in the middle of the street!"

Nadia giggles a bit as she starts walking over to the bench while Sydney goes to get her car.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Compton, CA<strong>_

Sydney and Nadia drive down a ramp, leading to a familiar looking aqueduct. Underneath the bridge ahead of them, they see a plain white cargo van parked underneath.

Sydney flashes her lights at the van. The van flashes back, confirming that whoever is in it is expecting them.

Sydney pulls the car up besides the van and gets out. As they do, the side door slides open and we see Mike Walcott and David Marston, Tom's friends from Storm Crew, inside the van and already in their janitor outfits.

Sydney smiles and says "I remember you guys!" Mike smiles back and says "Nice to be able to see you without having to pry you out of a coffin!" David, sitting behind him at a table with a laptop on it, says "Amen to that!"

Nadia walks around the car and Mike spots her immediately. "And there is Tom Falk's much better looking half! I forgot to mention this yesterday, but you look really good for someone that just got out of a coma!" Nadia, a little incredulously, folds her arms and replies "What are you trying to say?"

Mike, thinking quickly, replies "Well, I meant...you're up and about and all..." Nadia then laughs and says "I'm just teasing! It's good to see you. Thanks for coming out here, guys, this really means a lot to me."

Mike replies "Hey, anything I can to do to get my brother from another mother out of jail!" Sydney looks at him funny. "Brother from another mother? _Really_?"

Mike laughs and replies "We called each other that in the Anti-Cartel. Eduardo Munoz really wanted us to operate like a Mexican gang, and that includes the whole brotherhood thing." Sydney shrugs and says "Ok...I just thought you said that because we were in the 'hood..."

Nadia cuts her off and asks "Why are we meeting here, of all places?" Mike replies "Me and Tom would meet here back in the Anti-Cartel days. The CIA has no interest in Compton gang activity, and I can say from experience that the DEA and ATF don't really communicate with the CIA very well. So, we thought this place was inconspicuous enough."

Sydney nods. "I see. But, Compton has cleaned up a bit over the years, are you sure..." Mike nods his head. "Me and Tom met here when Mitch Hayes showed his face again last year. It's safe."

Sydney looks surprised at that. "You were involved in that? I thought Tom killed Mitch by himself!" Mike smirks and replies "Thank you for making my point about how private this place is." He then looks over at Nadia and asks "She's not going to rat me out, is she?"

Nadia shakes her head. "No. Besides, no crime took place, right? Mitch was already dead, according to the CIA." Mike nods and says "You're right. With all that's going on with Tom, I'm just being paranoid, I guess."

David then emerges from the van and asks Nadia "Do you have the video file?" Nadia nods and reaches into her right pocket and gives David the USB drive. Sydney and Nadia then follow Mike and David back into the van.

David plugs the USB drive into his laptop and opens the file. The four of them watch the first few minutes, which is nothing but a garbled mess. Suddenly, the video and sound clean up when Tom yells "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" at Sark and charges at him.

David pauses immediately and says "Yeah, this was deliberate. Someone wanted to hack this thing up like that for one reason...to make Tom look bad." Nadia intently asks "Can you fix it?"

David opens up another window and says "Let me just look at the sectors and see how cluttered the file is..." David examines the various bits of files on his screen. After a few seconds, he starts laughing and shaking his head. Nadia notices and asks "What is it?"

David then turns to Mike and asks "Does Eduardo Munoz have a bunch of grade schoolers working on technology issues for him?" Mike shrugs. "I don't know, why?"

David looks back at the screen and says "This is child's play! How couldn't he fix this?" Before Mike can answer, Sydney says "I take it you can fix it, then."

David sarcastically chuckles and says "I almost don't know why I'm here. Look at all these files..." David points at the screen. "...think of these like a puzzle. These files are scattered around in their little box, but it's as if they left step-by-step instructions to get it back together! All of these files piece together like a puzzle, and when they're all in place, the video should be crystal clear."

David then opens up a new window. Mike asks "So, how do you fix it?" David looks at him and smirks. "Just another one of my patented computer programs that I created. I could piece this thing back together manually, but that would take hours. This program should zap things back into place in about 10 minutes...maybe less."

Nadia smiles wide and says "That's great! Sydney needs to take this to Director Chase and I don't want to tie her up..." Sydney looks over and holds up her hand. "No, it's ok. Take all the time you need."

David clicks on a few things on his laptop and we see a progress bar pop up. He exclaims "Ok, she's working!" Nadia then looks over at Mike and, with a concerned look, asks "Can I talk to you in private for a bit?" Mike nods and says "Sure."

Mike and Nadia walk out of the cargo van, leaving Sydney and David inside. Nadia walks off to the other side of the aqueduct with Mike, dodging the shopping carts and other litter scattered about.

Finally, seeing as she's out of earshot from the van, she stops and turns to Mike. "I need to ask you something about Tom, and I know what I'm going to ask is be a sore subject for you."

Mike shakes his head dismissively. "It's ok, what's up?" Nadia sighs and says "The whole Matt Aguero thing...Tom told me everything."

Mike turns away and starts pacing. "He did, did he?" Nadia says "He wanted to tell me before we got married, so there's no secrets between us. He was so afraid if he told me that I'd walk away from him."

Mike stops and shakes his head. "I don't know what Director Chase has on him in regards to that. But, you're the only person besides me and him that knows everything about what he did." Nadia quickly says "He told Sydney, too."

Mike looks up at the bridge above him and sighs. "What did she think?" Nadia, noticing that Mike has trepidation over talking about this subject, replies "The same thing I did. I mean, yeah, he's aggressive in the field, but the man he described in the letter he wrote to me...I didn't recognize him. Cutting off limbs, throwing acid on people's faces..."

Mike intently cuts her off. "Please, I don't need the memories." Nadia, now worried, says "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just...the man Tom described isn't the Tom I know. You were with him during that time period. What was he really like?"

Mike looks down and takes a deep breath. "He became an animal. In the hotel room, when Matt returned to us on the brink of death, you could literally see the rage build up in him. I was upset myself, but Tom...he really took it personally. That rage didn't subside until he was finished hacking Alvarado to bits weeks later. It was like he was possessed and was almost compelled to do the things he did. When it was all over, Tom knew that what he did was wrong on so many levels and he hated himself for a while. Still, he was smart enough to use his newly-acquired notoriety to get a lot done afterwards, but he never went back to the mindset he was in after Matt died. Well, actually, he took the death of our friends in Storm Crew very hard, but he was still recovering from Project Alloy and by the time he was back at Dark Cover months later, the Covenant fell apart, or so we thought, so there was no one to vent his rage at. So instead, he attacked himself and his own faults. Until he reunited with you in APO, he was still broken up about what happened in Torino to the rest of our team. And now, it sounds like he was going down the same downward spiral after what happened in Sovogda."

Nadia nods and says "I remember how he broke down when he told all of us about Project Alloy and the Torino mission. He was devastated, but mostly over his friends." Mike replies "That's the guy he is. Sometimes, I think he cares about his friends more than himself. But if you're worried about the man Tom is because of what he did after Matt Aguero died, don't be. I wouldn't be his friend if I thought he was a maniac. Plus, since he arrived in prison, just about all he would talk with me about was you. He wasn't NEARLY as devoted to his ex-wife as he is to you, and I thought he was loyal then. He really thinks you're his soulmate."

Nadia looks down and smiles. "I think so, too. That's why I'm doing all this. And speaking of which..." Nadia looks back up at Mike. "...we need to talk about our approach when we go after Sark." Mike folds his arms. "Yeah, that was the one thing you left out when we talked yesterday."

Nadia takes a deep breath and says "We're going to have to attack and disable the guards. When we're done, I'll go in to his room, and you need to get out of there. I'll deny any knowledge that you were there." Mike raises his eyebrows. "When Director Chase hears you assaulted Sark's guards to get to him..."

Nadia cuts him off. "I'll lose my job. But that's ok, because I've decided that I'm done being an agent. So is Tom. We've both endured too much, and we're both ready to move on." Mike nods his head understandingly. "I don't blame either one of you, actually. And quite frankly, I might be right behind you guys."

Nadia, a little surprised, asks "Why do you say that?" Mike, a little worried now, replies "I haven't been asked about my involvement in Tom's rampage after Matt Aguero died, and I think it might be a good idea to walk away before they get curious. I don't want to have to go through what Tom has had to endure the past 11 months, and it's pisses me off so much to see my friend dragged through the mud like this." Mike then forms a smile on his face. "Looks like the three of us will be unemployed pretty soon. Maybe the three of us can get together and figure out what we're going to do with our lives, and maybe do something together. I'd like to work with Tom again and you as well. How does that sound?"

Nadia smiles wide at that, but before can respond, Sydney yells from the van "It's done!" Nadia and Mike quickly make their way back to the van.

As they walk in the side door, Nadia tells David "That was fast!" David looks back and smirks. "As I said, child's play. Even my program saw that." David goes to play the video, but Sydney asks Nadia "Are you sure you want to see this, Nadia? Tom told me what Sark said, and he doesn't want you to hear..."

Nadia looks at Sydney and cuts her off. "I need to know what Sark said when I talk to him later." Nadia then looks down at David. "Play it."

David does as instructed and the video plays perfectly from the beginning. They get to the point right when Sark makes his comments about Nadia and David immediately stops the video after Sark says the word "erotic."

David shakes his head and looks angry. Meanwhile, Mike and Sydney look over and try to gauge Nadia's reaction. Nadia looks over at them and, trying to hide her anger, blankly asks "What?" Sydney says "I'm sorry you had to hear that." Nadia looks back at the paused video and, still trying to hide her anger, blankly responds "It's alright. David, play the rest of the video."

David then presses play, and the rest of the video plays. Once again, we see Tom giving Sark a major beatdown and completing the attack with the curb stomp on the vent. And then, the video suddenly stops.

Nadia notices and asks "What happened?" David says "That's it. There's no more. Whoever recorded this stopped it at this point."

Sydney looks at Nadia and says "This proves that Tom was provoked. But, this doesn't prove that Tom didn't want to kill Sark." Nadia nods. "I know, but it's a start. Can you deliver that to Chase?"

Sydney intently says "Done." David pulls out the USB drive and hands it to Sydney. Sydney then looks at Nadia and says "You left your nurse's outfit in the car." Nadia looks at Mike and David and says "Let's get ready to go. I'll be back in a bit." Mike nods as he goes up to the driver's seat. Meanwhile, David starts disassembling his laptop.

Nadia follows Sydney to her car. Sydney opens the back driver's side door and grabs a plastic bag. She then hands it to Nadia. "I'll head right to Chase's office from here. Good luck with Sark." Nadia smiles and says "Thanks. Now, the easy part is over."

Sydney looks at Nadia concerned and says "Look, I know Sark, and I don't think he meant what he..." Nadia cuts her off. "Sydney, I don't care about Sark. This time tomorrow, I'm going to be in the next phase of life with the man I love, and everything I've gone through will be in the past. Me and Tom just want to live a normal, happy life from now on. Sydney, when this is over, and Tom is freed, I'm not coming back to APO."

Sydney looks down and looks a little disappointed. "I thought you might say that. That's why you were so willing to take this risk." Nadia puts her hand on Sydney's shoulder. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to be in your life! I want to see Isabelle grow up, and if you ever get called away for work, I'd love to babysit her, and I'm sure Tom would want to as well."

Sydney suddenly looks up, smiles and says "I know he does. He felt bad that he wasn't able to help me during my pregnancy, and he said he wants to repay that by being Isabelle's on-call babysitter!" Nadia laughs and says "Well, you now have two on-call babysitters, how about that?" Sydney giggles a bit and says "That's great, actually!"

Sydney then gives Nadia a hug. "Good luck. I hope you can get Sark to change his story. He might come off as cocky and arrogant, but you can handle him." Nadia, still hugging, says "Thank you so much for everything you've done today. I'll never forget this."

The two then release the hug and Sydney says "No problem. Call me when it's done, I'll give you a ride back to your apartment." Sydney then gets in her car. Nadia waves at her as she starts pulling away. Nadia then walks back to the van to go to the hospice.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Grace Hospice, Los Angeles<strong>_

Nadia and Mike stand in their positions, both looking a little anxious. Nadia is in an empty hospice room in her white nurse's outfit, holding on to a rolling metal stand that is used to hold IV bags. Meanwhile, Mike stands in a small janitor's closet, holding the wooden handle of a mop that is in a mop bucket.

Meanwhile, David sits in another empty hospice room, his laptop hooked up to an ethernet port. Through his earpiece, he tells Mike and Nadia "Just give me a little bit, I'm looping the feed..."

On his screen, we see a camera shot the hallway outside Sark's room, with the two guards standing outside. David waits for foot traffic in the hallway to clear out, and then starts recording the video of just the two guards standing there.

After 10 seconds, he saves the image and clicks on another screen, which features multiple security camera screens, presumably what the security officers see.

He clicks on one of the screens and, after inputting some things on the keyboard, starts playing the camera shot he recorded through the screen, looping it every 10 seconds.

He clicks on yet another screen to reveal what's actually going on in the security cameras. Satisfied, he says through his earpiece "Ok, you're both clear. Strength and honor."

Mike and Nadia, in their separate rooms, say "Strength and honor" back, then walk out of their rooms.

From the guards vantage point, Nadia starts approaching from their right, rolling the metal stand down the hallway inconspicuously. At about the same time to their left, Mike starts approaching as he pushes a mop bucket.

What the guards don't notice is that, as they walk down the hall, Nadia and Mike are unscrewing their handles to use as staffs. They both listen to get the call to abort from David if anyone approaches.

As they get within striking distance of the guards, and after hearing no call to abort, they spring into action.

Nadia whips her metal rod and nails the right side guard in the head. She delivers a few more head shots and body shots before guard collapses in a defeated heap, not really knowing what hit him.

At the same time, Mike nails the other guard with the wooden mop handle. It takes him a few more shots to take out his guy, but he gets the job done as well.

Nadia looks over at Mike and frantically says "Get out of here! Go!" Mike nods and starts walking the other direction. As he does, he touches his finger to his earpiece and says "The guards are down, let's get out of here!" David says "Affirmative" and quickly puts away his computer equipment and bails.

The two are able to escape the facility and bolt in the cargo van undetected.

Meanwhile, Nadia opens the door to Sark's room and finds him looking at the door with an astonished look, wondering what all the commotion is about.

We see that Sark has acquired some scars on his now-bald head. He's got a couple on the left side of his skull, presumably from his surgeries to alleviate the bleeding on his brain and post-op from his stroke. His left eye isn't fully open and it likely never will be after his orbital bone was shattered. But, it does seem that time has healed his other facial wounds.

Nadia shuts the door behind her and locks it. Meanwhile, Sark sarcastically says "I guess you couldn't just knock, could you?" Nadia says nothing, but notices Sark's speech pattern is slower than it was on the video...probably from the stroke.

Sark then starts studying Nadia's appearance and smiles. "I can see now why Falk fancies you so much. Do you have more outfits like this at home?" Nadia is unamused as she walks towards Sark. "We need to talk about the story you're feeding to prosecutors about his assault on you."

Sark's confident look disappears. "A man with a titanium right fist beats me silly and then, gives me a curb stomp on a vent, turning me into a walking medical bill for the next year of my life, all over what I may or may not have said about you..." Nadia cuts him off. "I heard what you said about me."

Sark smirks. "What all did Tom tell you?" Nadia shakes her head. "He didn't have to tell me anything." Then, Nadia forms a look of repulsion on her face. "I saw the video...the WHOLE video, you sick son of a bitch. My ordeal with the Rambaldi Fluid was EROTIC?"

Sark looks up at the ceiling, a little surprised at this development. "You know, when Gordon Dean approached me with this job, do you know what he told me?" Nadia doesn't say anything as she awaits a response. Finally, Sark says "He told me that I could insult Falk all I wanted, but he probably wouldn't attack me unless I antagonized you. Turns out Gordon was right."

Nadia walks closer to Sark and intently asks "What did he promise you?" Sark looks at her blankly and says "1 million dollars to take a punch. He told me he'd oversee the interrogation and send in security if things started got rough. I thought it'd be the easiest money I'd ever make." Nadia then gets a confident look on her face and says "A couple days ago, I received confirmation that it was actually my mother, Irina Derevko, that told Gordon Dean to have you beaten. You were set up to take a beating because she knew that would get Tom into serious trouble and his absence would cripple APO at the time. And she didn't care one bit about your well-being."

Sark chuckles a bit. "I guess that would make some sense. After all, I haven't seen Dean or Irina since the attack..." Nadia cuts him off. "Dean is dead, and my mother is going after The Horizon, the last piece in Rambaldi's prophecy."

Sark looks back up at the ceiling. "Figures. I guess that would be more important than checking up on your patsy. It would seem that me and Tom were both set up." Sark then turns back to Nadia. "But, you're really not telling me anything I don't already know. And when the CIA discovers you assaulted those two kind men guarding my door, you're going to really find yourself in a pickle, won't you? Your man will still be facing a long time in prison and you will be out of a job for interfering with a criminal investigation."

Nadia then turns and starts pacing. Time to start bluffing. "We have the complete video of the attack. At no point did Tom make any threats on your life. He just wanted to defend my honor." Sark thinks for a bit, then says "If you had the complete video, then you wouldn't be here."

Nadia then quickly looks at Sark, catching him in a 'gotcha' moment. "So, you do admit that you didn't hear Tom make any death threats?" Sark slowly cracks a smile. "Maybe. Some things are a little...fuzzy from that day. I did suffer a stroke, as I'm sure you heard."

Nadia quickly says "You're lying." Sark smiles wider. "Maybe, maybe not. But, ask yourself this: Why should I help this man? And this is not a rhetorical question, either, there is an answer."

Nadia replies "Because you have nothing to gain by continuing to lie." Sark shakes his head. "My attacker remains in prison if I hold up my story. What do I get out of telling the truth?"

Nadia takes a deep breath and tries to hide her frustration. She's hit a snag. She doesn't have anything to offer him. As she's vexing, Sark finally says "Believe it or not, I do respect what you're doing here. I once shared a love like you two share..."

Sark then looks away and starts staring at the ceiling blankly, as if he's getting an idea. Nadia notices and asks "Sark?"

Sark then slowly forms a wry smile on his face and turns back to Nadia. "You've gone this far for Tom. Let me ask you: How much further are you willing to go to get me to change my story?" Nadia puts her hands on her hips and asks "I take it you have a suggestion?"

Sark quickly replies "I will make you a deal. In exchange for the correct testimony...the testimony that makes the attempted murder charge more than a stretch for the CIA...I need you do one small favor for me. You can take care of it right now, and it'll be rather quick and painless." Nadia, both worried and curious over what he's going to ask, replies "What?"

With a serious look on his face, Sark says "Kiss me." Nadia raises her eyebrows at that and looks at Sark repulsed. "You want me to do _what_?"

Sark quickly replies "I envy Tom. He has a woman willing to go to these lengths in order to help secure his release. As I said before, I loved Lauren like you love Tom, and I miss what that kind of love feels like. Kiss me like you would kiss him, and I'll see the CIA gets the proper testimony."

Nadia quickly asks "How do I know that you won't go back on your word?" Sark takes a deep breath and replies "You have the word of a man who no longer has any reason to keep lying."

Nadia looks at him confused. "But, you just said you're doing this to spite Tom..." Sark quickly replies "I have yet to see a dime of the million dollars I was promised. I find this fact very upsetting to me, so spiting Irina by telling the truth seems more practical. So I lied to you...I really don't have anything to gain anymore by lying...but, I could gain what I'm sure will be one fantastic kiss if I tell the truth."

Nadia turns and starts pacing, mulling over Sark's offer. What Sark's asking is quite despicable, but really, she shouldn't expect anything less from him. But, does she want to demean herself for this guy's pleasure?

The answer comes quick: If it means Tom's release, absolutely.

Nadia looks back at Sark and says "Deal." She then walks over to Sark's bedside. Sark closes his eyes, then opens them quickly and sits up a bit. "Remember, kiss me like you were kissing..."

Nadia doesn't give him a chance to finish. In her trademark move that she likes to pull on Tom, she grabs the back of Sark's head and jerks it toward her quickly and closes her eyes...and starts giving him a deep kiss.

As she's kissing Sark, he's imaging it's Tom on the other end, which helps makes it a little better, although Sark's lips feel nothing like Tom's. She also notices the lack of energy coming back from Sark, perhaps because of his medical condition. Tom's kisses are much more passionate.

Then, about 10 seconds later, she releases the kiss and opens her eyes. Her first reaction after seeing Sark again is relief over the fact he didn't try to slip in his tongue.

Sark keeps his eyes closed for a while, reveling in the moment. Nadia, meanwhile, turns away and wipes her mouth, a little disgusted with herself.

As she's looking away, she hears Sark say "You really do love this man." Nadia looks back at Sark and says "More than anything."

Sark opens his eyes and says "I believe that now." Nadia, with a serious tone in her voice, asks "Does this mean you're going to change your testimony?"

As she says that, she hears the door to Sark's room unlock. The door then flies open and in steps Director Chase, along with a pair of CIA agents. We see the unconscious bodies of the guards still lying on the ground behind her.

With a look of anger in her face, Chase asks "What the hell do you think you're doing, Agent Santos?" Before Nadia can respond, Sark casually says "Excuse me, Director?"

Chase keeps her glare at Nadia for a bit, then looks over at Sark. "What is it?" Sark replies "This lovely woman was here to hear the truth about what happened between myself and Tom Falk. Some facts are starting to become more...clear as I continue to recuperate."

Chase looks at Sark with her mouth agape, not believing what she's hearing. She then asks "Did this agent threaten you in some way?" Sark looks at Nadia, smiles, and looks back at Chase. "Quite the opposite, actually. Our chat was actually rather enjoyable." Nadia closes her eyes and looks disgusted with that statement.

Chase takes a deep breath, then looks over at the agents that accompanied her. "Two of you, take Agent Santos out to the hallway, make sure she doesn't leave before I talk to her again. One of you, go out to the van and get the video equipment, we have a testimony to record."

Nadia is then escorted out of the room with the agents and is ordered to sit on a chair just outside the room.

* * *

><p>20 minutes later, Nadia remains seated, flanked on each side by two CIA agents under the employ of Director Chase.<p>

She stares off into space, wondering if this approach was indeed the right one. Success relies on the trustworthiness of Julian Sark. It's not much to hang her hat on, but there's really no other options.

She didn't get any confirmation that Mike and David were able to escape. She hopes they did. But more importantly, she hopes all of her efforts will result in the release of Tom Falk, the love of her life.

Suddenly, the door to Sark's room opens, and Director Chase walks out. She motions Nadia to stand up, and she does.

Nadia immediately asks "Did Sark change his testimony?" Chase sighs and says "It would seem that Sark was lying all along about the death threats. He now says Tom made no such statements. He also admitted to being set-up by Irina Derevko through Gordon Dean."

Nadia breaths a sigh of relief and says "So, this means that Tom's attempted murder charge can't stick, right?" Chase, with an irritated look, says "You should worry more about yourself! You assaulted two federal employees..."

Nadia quickly blurts out "I resign." Chase stops in her tracks, surprised to hear that. "You what?"

Nadia replies "Because of my actions, I resign from the CIA, effective immediately. I know I went rogue to do what I did, and I offer my resignation to compensate for that. I acted alone in an attempt to secure my fiance's release from prison." Chase looks at her blankly, still a little stunned. "You would throw away your career over a man?"

Nadia quickly replies "Yes. I promised Tom I would marry him, and he's waited almost a year for me to come out of my coma, when others might have just abandoned me and lost hope. I just want the love of my life back." Chase thinks for a bit, then says "Your sister approached me not an hour ago with the uncorrupted video of Tom's interrogation of Sark. She says that she found it in her mailbox this morning from an anonymous source. Do you have any knowledge of this?"

Nadia shakes her head, acting bewildered. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I remember Sydney told me that Gordon Dean had made another copy of the interrogation...that must be it." Chase sighs and, appearing to buy it, says "I guess that would make sense."

Nadia, with a hopeful determination on her face, says "Look, you have all the evidence you need to drop the attempted murder charge! Please, PLEASE, let Tom go!"

Chase looks away and doesn't say anything at first as she digests all the information she's received today. Nadia looks on, hoping for some good news to come.

Chase then looks back at Nadia and says "Your resignation from the CIA is accepted, effective immediately. We'll forget this incident happened." She then looks down at her watch. "It's now 1 in the afternoon, and Tom's pre-trial hearing is in two hours."

Chase then looks up at Nadia and says "If I were you, I'd be at that hearing." Chase then looks at the agents flanking Nadia. "Let's go." Chase then walks off with the agents, leaving Nadia behind.

As she watches Chase and the agents walk away, she can't help but smile wide.

This might have just worked...

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	29. Ch 28: The Price Of Freedom Part 3

**THE PRICE OF FREEDOM PART 3**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Federal prison courtroom<strong>_

Tom Falk walks into the small courtroom in the federal prison, followed closely by his attorney, Eduardo Munoz.

The courtroom is not your typical courtroom in the historical sense. Sure, there's a small judge's bench, along with a slot for a witness stand, but instead of wood fixtures, everything is in this off-gray color. Definitely more of a modern look than the usual style of courtroom.

There is a small area for visitors, but it's blocked off by a wall with a long viewing window. That's immediately behind the table and seats for the prosecution and the defendants.

It feels really cramped for a courtroom. At least, that's what Tom feels as he walks behind the first table and sits behind it. Eduardo joins him in the seat to his left.

Eduardo was nice enough to bring a suit and slacks for Tom. He could have come in here with wearing his usual prison garb, but Eduardo thinks his clients should keep some of their dignity. Tom's also not wearing his handcuffs either, another Eduardo request that was granted.

Tom looks over to the right and notices that neither Director Chase nor Special Prosecutor Boyd Harkin are present at their table. There's various papers and such scattered on their desk, but no sign of them.

Tom looks behind him in the visitor area. No one is there. He wonders what Nadia is up to and why she isn't there. He told her this was coming.

But, before he can start guessing her whereabouts, Director Chase walks in the door they came in and says "Mister Munoz, you're needed in the judge's chambers." Eduardo nods and looks over at Tom, who's giving him a curious look. Eduardo just shrugs and says "Probably just procedural stuff. Hang tight."

Tom nods as Eduardo follows Director Chase out of the room.

Tom keeps his gaze over to his left and sees a bailiff sitting there, keeping an eye on him. Tom then looks over the man's head and sees the clock read 2:57.

Tom looks back down and asks the bailiff "Are they usually on time here?" The bailiff just shrugs and doesn't say anything else to Tom. Tom just awkwardly nods, sort of disappointed that the man isn't the small-talk type. Any conversation nowadays is a bonus for Tom.

A door suddenly opens behind Tom. Tom looks back and smiles wide when he sees Nadia walking in. Tom immediately notices how nice she looks. Her long hair is now straight and neat, with the middle part of it in a barrette. She's wearing a dark blue dress shirt with a black skirt. Tom notes it's a definite upgrade to the hospital gown she was in two days ago.

A glowing Nadia gives Tom a wave and looks like she's ready to explode out of happiness. Tom gives her a suspicious wave back and looks at her kind of funny. A courtroom in a federal prison is no place to be so happy at. After all, this is the last hurrah before his trial next week.

And then, Nadia gives Tom a thumbs up. Tom looks at that gesture a little confused, not getting the message at first. Maybe that's just her way of lifting his spirits...but, still, a thumbs-up from Nadia is a bit unusual from her.

And then...his face turns blank as he realizes what that thumbs-up _could_ mean. Did she...

His thoughts are interrupted by Eduardo Munoz, Director Chase, Boyd Harkin, and the judge walking in together. Tom notices Eduardo has a wide smile on his face and looks like Christmas just came early for him while Chase and Harkin look like death warmed over.

The bailiff stands and says "All rise!" Tom and Nadia, from the visitor's area, do as instructed as everyone else gathers to their seats.

The judge gets to the bench and the bailiff says "The honorable Judge H. Chris Towne presiding." The judge sits down and, with a deep, plain voice, says "Please, be seated."

Everyone takes their seats. Eduardo leans over to Tom and whispers "You're not going to believe what's about to happen..." Tom looks over at him with a look of surprised wonder.

Before he asks Eduardo what he's talking about, the judge says "This is the United States of America versus Thomas Loren Falk. This matter comes before the court on a pre-trial hearing. Prosecutor Harkin, you wanted to start off today's proceedings?"

Harkin stands in front of his seat and holds up a piece of paper in his hand. "Your honor, before we begin, the prosecution is prepared to introduce a new charge in this matter." Tom cocks his head a bit, a little confused.

Harkin then starts to approach the judge's bench and says "Your honor, I present Count 2, aggravated assault in the second degree. The details of this count are in this document, your honor, you may look over them if you like."

Tom's face turns hopeful as Harkin hands Judge Towne the document. He has hoped for the last 11 months that he'd see the aggravated assault charge come about and now, on the eve of his trial, here it is. Tom looks left at Eduardo, who has a bit of a smirk on his face. Eduardo whispers "Oh, it gets better..."

Judge Towne reads over the document and says "Very well, you may proceed further, prosecutor." Tom looks back at Harkin, now very hopeful over this development.

Harkin clears his throat a bit and says "Your honor, the prosecution has recently come into possession of new evidence in this case. In light of this, we are here to formally present Mister Falk with a new plea deal." Tom raises his eyebrows a bit, and looks back at Nadia, who gives him a reassuring smile. Tom, who's starting to get the picture now, mouths "you didn't..." at her. Nadia smiles even wider at that.

Harkin interrupts his thoughts by saying "The offer reads as follows: Count 1, attempted murder...would be dismissed. Mister Falk would plead guilty to Count 2, aggravated assault in the second degree. The defendant will be sentenced to 342 days in federal prison...and will be given credit for 342 days already served. He will be ordered released from custody immediately following this court proceeding, and as part of the agreement, he will have to resign from the CIA."

Tom looks over at Eduardo quickly, happily in disbelief over what he's hearing. Eduardo smiles back as Harkin walks over and slides the plea offer to Tom.

Tom looks down at it and goes over the details. As he does, Director Chase stands up. "Can I make a statement off the record, your honor?" Judge Towne says "Yes, you may proceed."

Chase looks over at Tom and says "Mister Falk, you should know that the evidence we received today came at a high cost. Agent Nadia Santos willingly resigned her position with the CIA after violating protocol to secure new testimony from Julian Sark. However, we do believe the new testimony from Sark, along with the clean video from your interrogation that we received, is indeed valid."

Tom looks at Chase shocked over Nadia, and then turns back to the visitor's area and looks at her with that shocked look. Nadia notices Tom's shocked look and mouths "it's ok" to him and gives him a small smile to try to reassure him. Tom continues to look at her a little troubled that she sacrificed her career for him, but then nods his head, understanding that Nadia must be ready to move on herself.

Tom then turns and goes to hand the sheet to Eduardo. "You want to make sure this is on the up and up?" Eduardo holds up his hand. "I already saw it. Now sign it and get your life back."

With a wide smile, Eduardo takes out a pen from his coat pocket and hands it to Tom. Tom happily grabs the pen and quickly signs his name where he's instructed to sign at.

Tom then hands the paper to Harkin, who has been standing next to him this whole time. Harkin then takes the plea deal up to Judge Towne, who reads over it a bit. Then, he says "Mister Falk, would you please rise?"

Tom stands up with a very relieved and confident look on his face. Judge Towne then says "Mister Falk, do you understand the terms of this plea agreement?" Tom nods his head and says "Yes, your honor."

Judge Towne then says "Very well. You have agreed to plead guilty to count 2, which alleges that on or about the date of June 18th, 2005, you committed the crime of aggravated assault in the second degree. The count alleges you attacked a defenseless witness by the name of Julian Sark and caused severe head and facial injuries in the process. Count 1, attempted murder, will be dismissed as a part of this agreement. You will be sentenced to 342 days in federal prison, and will be given credit for 342 days in time served. Thomas Falk, what is your plea to count 2, aggravated assault in the second degree, guilty or not guilty?"

Tom takes a deep breath and says "Guilty." Judge Towne nods and says "Your plea is accepted. You're hearby ordered to be released from custody at the conclusion of this court proceeding, and your plea of guilty will serve as your resignation from the CIA, effective immediately." Judge Towne looks over at Nadia, who is beaming over the fact that Tom is getting out. "Ma'am, you can pick up Mister Falk in the prisoner release area behind the prison." Nadia, who couldn't smile any wider if she could, happily says "Thank you, your honor!" and bolts from the courtroom, eager to pick up Tom.

Judge Towne then tells Tom "This concludes the hearing. Good luck to you, sir." The judge then slams his gavel down and steps down from the bench.

Tom then lets out a big sigh of relief and gives Eduardo a hug and starts laughing out of happiness over his newly-acquired freedom. As they hug, Eduardo says "Congratulations. We beat this thing." Director Chase and Prosecutor Harkin seem less than happy as they exit the courtroom.

Eduardo then escorts a glowing Tom out of the courtroom...and towards his freedom.

Tom Falk's 11 month nightmare has come to an end.

* * *

><p>Nadia anxiously paces around under the long canopy leading out from the door where prisoners are released from.<p>

It's become an absolutely dreadful day weather-wise. A torrential downpour has moved into Los Angeles, interrupting what had been a decent start to the day.

Nadia's not thinking about the rain, however. She's thinking about the man she helped free from prison. And despite the weather, this day was about to become absolutely perfect for her.

The door opens suddenly and Tom Falk walks out, still in his suit and slacks from the courtroom, holding a plastic bag with his belongings.

Almost immediately, Nadia beams at the sight of him and immediately starts sprinting down the long canopy towards him. Tom starts running up to her himself, with a huge smile on his face as well. He tosses the bag off to the side as he gets closer.

Finally, Tom stops as Nadia leaps into his arms and nearly tackles him to the ground as they embrace. They both start laughing out of sheer joy as Tom starts spinning around with Nadia in his arms.

Tom stops the twirling and sets Nadia down. They both look into each other's eyes for a few seconds, both of them soaking in each other...and both a little winded from both the running and the emotions.

Tom then gently puts his hands on Nadia's cheeks and leans in for a long and tender kiss...a kiss almost a year in the making. They kissed in the hospital, but not like this. There's no witnesses this time.

As this neverending kiss continues, both Tom and Nadia start moving their hands around. They both latch on to each other's backs and push each other in closer. Then, when they couldn't get any closer if they tried, they both start running their hands through the other's hair at the same time, almost like choreography. Everything around them completely gets lost as they continue to absorb each other's passion.

Finally, the kiss is interrupted by the sound of a man clearing his throat. Tom looks right and Nadia looks left suddenly and sees a somewhat amused Eduardo Munoz standing there.

Eduardo looks over and, with a smirk, says "And now, everything you told me about this woman makes complete and total sense." Tom laughs a bit and looks at Nadia. "I'd like you to meet my attorney and former Anti-Cartel director Eduardo Munoz. He's been by my side since I arrived in this shithole."

Nadia reaches over and shakes Eduardo's hand. "It's nice to meet you." Eduardo quickly replies "And it's nice to meet you as well. Congratulations to the both of you. I guess this embrace of yours was a long time in the making."

Nadia says "Especially for him, time flew by when I was out. Thank you so much for your help." Eduardo just shrugs. "Tom and I both wanted to stick it to the CIA. We both have been screwed by them, and you don't know how happy I was when I saw the evidence that you were able to conjure up. I just wish I had you on my investigation team..."

Nadia laughs and says "Well, we DO need to figure out what we're going to do with our lives now..." Eduardo says "There's a lot of things you can do with your skillsets. For instance, I have contacts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I can pull some strings for the both of you..."

Tom holds up his hand and cuts him off. "I appreciate the gesture, but we're looking for something a little less risky. We both have seen and done enough crazy stuff in our agent careers." Tom then puts his arm around Nadia's shoulders and pulls her in close. "Besides, I intend on growing old with this woman, and I'm guessing she'd like me around for a while, too!"

Nadia giggles a bit as Eduardo nods and says "I completely understand. Anyway, I don't want to interrupt you two any further. I just wanted you to sign this before you walked away..." Eduardo reaches into his leather briefcase and pulls out a sheet of paper on a clipboard. "This will release my power of attorney over you. Everything has been kept up to date. And that includes the rent on those...storage facilities in Tijuana and Campeche."

Tom looks at him a little incredulously as he grabs the clipboard, knowing that's where his skimming money is. He pulls the pen out of the clip and says "Just some leftover weapon caches from the Anti-Cartel. Remember, it was YOU that recommended I get those." Eduardo holds up his hands and smirks. "I know nothing, although I do wonder why you still have them after all this time."

Tom smirks as she's signing the form and says "You never know when those might come in handy someday, Eduardo." Eduardo nods and decides to drop the issue.

Tom signs the form and hands it back to Eduardo. Eduardo puts the clipboard back in his briefcase and then extends his hand for a handshake. "Congratulations again, Tom. Hopefully, this will be the last time you need my help."

Tom nods and shakes Eduardo's hand. With hands still clinched, he says "Eduardo, you were there to open the door to my CIA career 15 years ago, when you saw something in this small town police officer who scored big on a meth bust. And now, 15 years later, you were there to help close that very door on my career. And quite frankly, I couldn't have been happier to see you either time."

Eduardo chuckles and says "I appreciate that. Let me know when the wedding is, I'd like to be there." Tom and Nadia look at each other. They both smile each other, realizing that's something they need to discuss in the very near future. Tom then looks back at Eduardo and says "Absolutely. Anyway, thanks for all you've done."

Eduardo smirks and says "No problem. Take care." Eduardo then opens up his umbrella and starts walking away.

Tom looks out as Eduardo walks out of the canopy and into the rain. As he's gazing out, he asks Nadia "When did it start raining?" Nadia laughs as she walks around and puts her arms around Tom's hips. "A little while ago. Don't worry, I brought an umbrella so you won't get all wet!"

Tom cracks a smirk on his face as he continues to watch the rain. He then looks down at Nadia and says "Excuse me for a bit." Nadia lets go of Tom with a curious look on her face.

Tom starts walking out toward the end of the canopy. Nadia quickly scrambles over and grabs an umbrella that is propped up on the railing. "Tom! Your umbrella!"

Tom keeps walking towards the rain and holds up his hand. "That's ok, babe. I won't need it." Nadia, now completely at a loss, says "You'll get soaked!"

Tom ignores her as he reaches the end of the canopy and stops. He looks out at the parking lot and sees a few people running to get indoors from the rainstorm. He laughs at them, all worried about getting a little wet.

Tom holds his arm out and lets the rain hit his hand for a while. Then, he takes off his suit and pulls off his tie and tosses both off to the side. He takes a deep breath, and then walks out into the rain. Nadia runs up to the end of the canopy and frantically asks "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Tom stops, turns back towards Nadia, and hold out his arms, palms facing towards the sky. He looks up to the sky, closes his eyes, and smiles as the rain keeps falling on him. Nadia watches on, wondering if her man has lost his mind.

Tom then opens his eyes and looks down at Nadia with a giant smile as rain streams down his face. "For the last 10 months of my life, while I was in solitary, I was given 4 hours a day to go outside...except on days when it rained. I would have to remain in my cell every day it rained. So, for the first time in 10 months, NO ONE can tell me I can't stand out in the rain! And Nadia? NO ONE can tell me and you that our fates lie in some sort of crazy prophecy! We have defied Rambaldi! He had different plans for the both of us! But guess what? HERE WE ARE! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW!" Tom then looks up at the sky, still with a fanatical look on his face and his arms outstretched. "LOOK AT US NOW, RAMBALDI! LOOK AT US NOW!"

Tom takes a few deep breaths and then looks back down at Nadia, who's still under the canopy and is looking at him in total astonishment. Back in a normal voice, he says "Nadia, for the first time in our lives, we TRULY are free! Free from our careers, free from prophecies, and free from whatever feelings and emotions that have plagued us up until now! We're free to dictate how we want to live from here on out! And I say WE, because I want you alongside me every glorious step of the way! You asked me what am I doing, letting myself get completely soaked! Well, I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm soaking up the freedom! So come on in, the water's fine!"

Nadia looks at him a little funny after that last request. She realizes that he always was the emotional type, wearing his heart on his sleeve. But, within his crazy rant, he did bring up a few good points, especially the fact that they were no longer bound to anyone telling them how they should be feeling. That fact stands out for her. She liked the prospect of being in total control with the man she loves for the rest of her life. In fact, she now feels somewhat empowered as she watches Tom get drenched.

So, after thinking it over a bit, Nadia does something that some people might consider crazy. She tosses her umbrella to the side and walks out in the rain to join her crazy fiance in getting absolutely soaked.

Tom smiles wide as she approaches him, and she returns the smile with a wide one of her own. In fact, she starts laughing as she gets closer to him. What they're doing is completely absurd, but she doesn't care. The rain feels good, and as each drop hits her body, Nadia realizes what Tom was talking about when it comes to freedom. Freedom feels good!

Nadia then stands in front of Tom and extends her arms out and looks up to the sky. Tom does the same, and they both let the rain fall down on them, both laughing like they're having the time of their lives.

After a little while, they both look down at each other and start laughing at how soaked each other is. Finally, they give each other a hug and a kiss on the cheek and the both walk back to the canopy to get their belongings, their arms around each other the whole way.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in Los Angeles<strong>_

Tom drives down the freeway while Nadia sits next to him. Both of them look happy to just be alive. The stereo is off, and the fans in the car are on full blast to help with their drying process.

Tom, with a wide smile on his face, says "Man, it feels good to be driving my old car again." Nadia smiles herself and says "I should have brought some towels! These seats will never be the same!"

Tom is still rather soaked, and so is Nadia. As Tom drives, Nadia grabs some of her wet hair and starts looking at it. Playfully irritated, she says "Do you know how hard I worked to look good for your court appearance today?" Tom looks over and, grinning wide, says "You looked beautiful today in court. And you still look beautiful now."

Nadia, still looking at her hair, asks "Oh, I've been meaning to ask you...should I keep my hair this long or should I cut it shorter like I had it before?" Tom quickly replies "Keep it! I love it!"

Nadia says "Really? It's not too long?" Tom shrugs. "I think it looks great! Do you think it's too long?" Nadia replies "Well, it's just...I never have had my hair this long before. It never was really practical for my job and all. But actually kinda like it, and if it makes you happy, I guess I'll keep it!"

Tom smiles, but then gets a troubled look on his face as he reaches over and starts rubbing Nadia's left thigh. "Nadia, I can't believe you sacrificed your career for me. What you did..." Nadia cuts Tom off by grabbing his hand and rubbing it. "Tom, I got out of Argentine Intelligence after a friend of mine was beheaded, and his head was delivered to our office. I knew then that I wanted to do something else with my life eventually. But, I really didn't have anything planned. Now, I do see a future for me, and you helped me realize that. And after what we both went through since joining APO, I'm ready to start our new life. And I know you are, too. I wasn't going back to APO either. All I wanted after I got out of my coma was to live that dream you had of us...a normal life with the one I love!"

Tom cracks a small smile and says "I'm really happy that you're saying this. And I'm still happy that you chose to stick with me after what I said in the letter." Nadia shakes her head dismissively. "Tom, you stuck with ME for almost a year. Most other men I've dated in the past would have probably moved on by now. From what I understand, there wasn't much hope for me until my father came through with a cure. If you had moved on, I wouldn't have blamed..."

Tom cuts her off. "I could never do that to you. You mean too much to me. You're the foundation I stand on, and I love you too much to ever walk away from you. I love you more than you'll ever know, and I would have waited for however long it took for you to get better." Nadia smiles and looks at her engagement ring. "I love you, too. Plus, I promised that I was going to marry you, and I can't go back on that!"

Tom takes a deep breath as he pulls off the freeway and says "Yeah, we need to talk about a wedding date!" Nadia looks at him quickly and simply says "The sooner, the better."

Tom looks over at Nadia and says "Really? You usually plan these things for some date well off into the future, you know, to give us and our guests time to prepare." Nadia starts rubbing Tom's shoulder and says "I've made you wait long enough for me. Let's get married soon."

Tom shakes his head dismissively. "Nadia, don't worry about what I want, I just want to make sure we do this right. We only get one shot at a wedding, and I want it to be as perfect as possible." Nadia giggles a bit and says "I'm sure it'll be just fine! Our wedding should be easy, anyway. I mean, I don't want to get married in a big church or anything. I just want a small, intimate ceremony."

Tom nods his head. "I agree. Besides, it'd be kind of sad if we booked a giant church and just the handful of people we know showed up." Nadia laughs a bit and says "Yeah, wouldn't it? But, that's not why I want our wedding to be simple. I remember some nights in the orphanage, I'd lie awake at night, daydreaming of the day I got married. I always wanted to get married in a small church with my closest friends there with me. I also would daydream about the look on my husband's face as I walked down the aisle, and how happy I'd make him. There were times when I was growing up that I had so little self-esteem for myself, that I'd wonder if that dream was ever attainable."

Tom grabs Nadia's left hand and pulls it up to his mouth and kisses it. "You're going to be such a beautiful bride. One of the things that kept me positive in prison was imagining what you'd look like on our wedding day. I'd imagine you walking down the aisle, with a big smile on your face, and just looking like an angel from above. That thought always made me so happy, and I can't wait for that day when I get to see it for real." Nadia smiles and anxiously says "I can't either! So, do you have any ideas on when and where we can get married?"

Tom laughs a bit and says "Easy there, Speedy Gonzalez! Two hours ago, I was still a federal prison inmate. So, no, I haven't thought of a wedding date in the short time I've been out of prison. Forgive me!" Nadia laughs and says "Ok! Ok! I guess we do have plenty of time to figure that out."

* * *

><p>Tom then pulls into his apartment parking spot and looks up at his apartment door. During their trip, the rain stopped, but there's puddles on the ground, proving it must have rained there earlier.<p>

Nadia looks over at Tom as she opens her passenger's door and, with a smile, says "Welcome home, handsome." Tom holds up his arm and says "Hang on a second, let me come around to you."

Nadia looks at him a little suspiciously as Tom gets out of the car and jogs around to the passenger's side. Tom then holds his hand out so she can help Nadia out of the car. Nadia cracks a small, suspicious smile as she grabs Tom's hand and gets out of the car. "Tom, what is this?"

Tom smiles wide and says "You went above and beyond today to get out of prison. So, for the next..." Tom looks down at his watch. "...32 hours and 32 minutes, I am going to treat you like a queen. Prepare to be pampered like you've never been pampered before!"

Nadia blushes a bit, flattered at Tom's desire to make her feel good. And then, Tom reaches down and scoops her up like a baby. Nadia yells in surprise as she's lifted up to Tom's arms.

Nadia, now completely astonished, asks "Why are you carrying me?" Tom, still smiling wide as he kicks his door shut, says "I'm not going to let you step in a puddle today. I'm carrying you to the front door. In fact, you don't have to walk anywhere the next day and 8 hours if you don't want to. I'll carry you everywhere if you want."

Nadia shakes her head and laughs. "I don't think that will be necessary, but thanks!" Tom then starts walking towards the steps leading up to their apartment with Nadia in his arms. Nadia says "Aren't you going to get your things from the back seat?" Tom shakes his head and simply responds "Later."

Tom stops at the bottom of the steps and looks deep into Nadia's eyes. "Another reason I'm doing this is because one day, you're going to be in my arms just like this, in this very spot we're standing in, wearing a beautiful wedding gown. I'm going to have to walk up these very steps with you in my arms. So, I figured I'd get some practice in!" Nadia laughs as she wraps her arms around Tom's neck and says "You're so sweet! Thank you!"

Tom smiles and replies "No, thank you, Nadia. Thank you for being you." He then leans in and starts kissing Nadia as he walks up the steps. They repeatedly give each other pecks on the lips, both wanting to make up for lost time.

All of the sudden, Nadia stops the kissing and looks like she remembers something. "Tom, put me down when you get to the door." Tom curiously asks "Why?"

Nadia looks at the door and says "Because...just, put me down." Tom laughs and starts kissing Nadia again. "Come on, it's your day..."

Nadia leans away from Tom's kissing and, while laughing a bit, yells "Tom! Please put me down!" Tom, now a little concerned, sets Nadia down as they get to the front door. He then asks "What's up? What's going on?"

Nadia grabs her keys and unlocks the front door and opens it. Immediately, Tom sees why Nadia wanted to him to set her down instead of walking in while being intimate with each other.

Mike Walcott and David Marston stand up from the couch and yell "Surprise!" Tom's eyes bug out as he steps into the apartment. "Mike? David? What are you two doing here?"

As she's walking in and closing the door, Nadia says with a smile "I couldn't have gotten you out of prison without their help." Tom looks at her surprised, and then back at Mike and David. "You guys...I don't know what to say!"

Mike sarcastically says "Thanks would be a start!" Tom laughs and shakes his head. "THANKS!" Tom then walks up and gives Mike a hug. Tom tells him "In all seriousness, thank you so much." Mike chuckles and says "Actually, David did most of the work."

Tom releases the hug and looks over at David. "Really?" David shrugs. "Oh, I just cleaned up your video and looped the security video at the hospice that perverted dooshbag Sark was in. Piece of cake. Mike did the heavy lifting. He took out one of the guards outside the door while Nadia took care of the other one."

Tom shakes his head in astonishment and gives David a hug. "Thank you so much. I don't know how I can repay you guys..." David releases the hug and says "We've been over this before! I wouldn't be anywhere near where I'm at in life without you. It's me that owes you a lifetime of favors." Mike says "You owe me nothing either. I'm glad you're finally free after all these months. Oh, and you can also thank Sydney, she had a small role in today's events." Nadia looks at Tom and says "Yeah, she'd be here, but she got called for a mission at APO."

David then looks down at his shirt and notices it's wet. He then looks up and notices Tom and Nadia both look wet. "What the hell? Why are you two wet?" Nadia looks over at Tom and playfully asks "Maybe you should ask my fiance why we're still drenched!"

Tom looks back at her and gives her a wide, sarcastic smile, and then looks back at Mike and David. "I just wanted to feel rain for the first time since I entered solitary. They'd make me stay in my cell if it rained. I asked Nadia if she wanted to join me..." Nadia giggles and says "...and I did, for some crazy reason!"

Tom chuckles sarcastically and says "Oh, you enjoyed it! Admit it!" Nadia laughs and says "Yeah, yeah...and I would do it all over again if I could!"

Mike looks over at David and flatly asks "Do you ever do this kind of crazy crap with Lisa?" David thinks for a bit, then blankly says "Well, there was that one morning this past winter where Lisa jumped on me in bed like I was a trampoline and forced me to go out and make snow angels with her and the kids."

Mike rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "I'll never get married people." At the same time, Tom and Nadia say "We're not married yet!" Mike laughs at their timing and says "Well, you might as well be!"

Before anyone can continue, David says "Wait, what are we doing here? We haven't offered Tom a drink yet!" Nadia turns to Tom and asks "Yeah, what do you want? I picked up some beer..."

Mike then says "We should do a celebration shot!" Nadia, as she's walking to the kitchen, excitedly replies "Yeah, I picked up some Jack Daniels..."

Tom angrily cuts her off, ruining the happy vibe. "Toss that shit out." Nadia stops in her tracks. "What?" David gives Tom a concerned look. Meanwhile, Mike looks like he just realized something. He remembers what Tom went through with Jack Daniels right before he was arrested for beating up Sark.

With remorse all over his voice, Tom tells Nadia "The first few days you were in a coma, I went on a drinking binge, and Jack Daniels was my drink of choice. I never want to taste that crap again. Get rid of it."

Nadia, now a little depressed, says "I'm so sorry, I didn't know..." Tom shakes his head dismissively and cuts her off. "It's ok, babe. Just, please get rid of it."

Nadia nods her head a little ashamedly. She walks into the kitchen, grabs the bottle of whiskey and starts pouring it out in the sink. Tom, seeing as she's now feeling a little down, walks over to the kitchen. As Nadia stands over the sink, Tom puts his hands on the top of her back and gives her a kiss in the neck. In a remorseful voice, he says "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just afraid of that stuff, that's all. I should have said something..."

Nadia looks back at Tom and cracks a small, reassuring smile. "It's ok, I understand." Tom looks back over at Mike and David and, trying to get the surprise get-together back on track, asks "You two need refills?"

Mike looks over at David, and then back at Tom. "Nah, I'm good. We're going to get going anyway." Tom starts waving his hands. "Oh, no! You don't have to go!"

David says "Dude, it's ok! We just wanted to be here to welcome you back home. We have plenty of time to hang out, we'll be in town for the next day or two." Tom, still feeling a bit like he's forcing them out, says "Well, ok, I guess. I didn't mean to run you guys out or anything..."

Mike smirks and shakes his head. "Not at all. It's just...I think Nadia had some plans of her own for you tonight." Tom slowly turns his head over to Nadia and gives her a playful smirk. Nadia, as she tosses away the empty whiskey bottle, gives him a playful smirk back. "You'll like what I have planned for us!"

Tom chuckles a bit, then turns back to Mike and David. "Guys, thanks for keeping in touch while I was away...and thank you so much for helping get me out of prison. Let's grab drinks during the day tomorrow, I want the play-by-play of what happened today!"

Mike finishes his beer and says "Done. You pick the place, we'll be there." Tom nods and says "There's a diner called Kitchen 24 that me and Nadia like to hang out at. I'll give you guys a call." Mike nods and says "Sounds good."

Tom looks over at David. "Lisa and the kids didn't make the trip, did they?" David shakes his head. "Good lord no! I couldn't tell her I was on a secret mission to break you out of prison! Although, I should tell Lisa that you got out today, she's been worried about you."

Tom smiles and says "Me and Nadia should come out to Baltimore sometime. It's been a while since I saw my goddaughter..." Nadia looks surprised at that. "You have a goddaughter?"

Tom looks at her and says "Yeah, David's daughter Susan, his youngest. She took my mother's name as her middle name." Nadia sighs and dejectedly says "Oh...Mary..."

David picks up on Nadia's animosity towards Mary and asks "What do you have against Tom's mother? I mean, you never met her..." Tom cuts him off intently. "It's complicated. All I'll say is...she has valid reasons to be upset with her." David just nods, having no idea about Tom and Nadia's ability to communicate with Mary Falk.

Mike then says "Ok, we should leave the lovebirds alone, David. Let's roll." David nods and says "Take care, you two. Good to see you again, Tom." Tom smiles and says "Thanks for all your help, guys. I'll never forget this. Strength and honor."

As they walk towards the door, Mike and David say "Strength and honor." Then, they stop and look at Nadia a little funny. Mike tells her "Hey, you blew your cue!" Nadia looks surprised and says "I thought that line was between you guys..."

Mike shakes his head. "You're as much a part of Storm Crew as the three of us after today. Now, come on, say it!" Nadia rolls her eyes and says "Ok! Strength and honor!" Mike then laughs and asks "See, was that so hard?" Nadia shakes her head and says "No, everything today was easy with your help. Thanks again."

Mike and David each wave as they walk out of Tom's apartment. As the door closes, Nadia slowly walks up behind Tom and puts her arms around his hips. Seductively, she says "It's just me and you now..." Tom smiles wide as he starts rubbing Nadia's arms. "Ok, I have to ask: What do you have planned for me?"

Nadia smiles wide as she walks over to Tom's side and points at a small, square fold-up table on the far side of the living room. "Well, tonight, I'm going to cook us a candlelight steak dinner. I found a bottle of Chardonel at the store...I hope it's good. If not, I bought us a bottle of merlot that I know we both like. And then afterwards..." Nadia starts slowly rubbing Tom's back and gives him a seductive smile. "I thought we'd just play that by ear."

Tom gives Nadia an affectionate smile and says "But, how can I treat you like a queen if you do all of this for me tonight?" Nadia giggles and says "I'll let you give me the royal treatment tomorrow. But tonight, you're all mine! I had this all planned out yesterday, when I was here alone. So, go sit on the recliner, I'm pampering YOU tonight."

Tom looks at Nadia a little funny because of her playfully bossy tone she took and turns around and goes to open the fridge. Nadia quickly scampers over and slams the fridge door shut. "No! I said go sit down! If you want a beer, I'll get it for you! Sit!"

Tom holds up his hands and, with a cocky smile, says "As you wish, my queen." He then walks over to the recliner and takes a seat. Meanwhile, Nadia opens the fridge and gets Tom a bottle of beer and one for herself and walks over to the living room.

They both have wide smiles on their faces as Nadia walks towards Tom. Nadia opens the beer for him and hands it to him. As he takes a drink, Nadia sets her beer on the coffee table to Tom's left and slowly sits on his lap. With her legs hanging off the right side of the recliner, her right arm around Tom's neck, and a wide smile on her face, she says "I'm so glad you're home. I missed you yesterday."

She then starts teasing Tom's hair. Tom, meanwhile, starts rubbing Nadia's right thigh and says "The last 11 months for me were difficult without you in my life. I'm glad you're home, too. I love you so much, babe. I always have and..." Nadia completes his sentence with a smile. "...and I always will! You were so right today...nothing can stop us now from loving each other for the rest of our lives."

Tom smiles wide and says "You're right. We're free...free do do things like this..." Tom then gently puts his right hand on the left side of Nadia's face. As he does, Nadia grabs the back of Tom's head and pulls herself in for a long kiss.

They continue to kiss for some time. These aren't the excited, strong kisses like before, but the slower, sensual type of kisses. Nadia rubs her hands on Tom's chest and belly and immediately recoils. She exclaims "Whoa! What happened here?" Tom laughs and says "Ah, you noticed I've undergone some changes while in prison! There's not much else to do in prison besides do bodyweight workouts, so I got a little stronger. And...those 10 to 15 pounds everyone always said I could lose...I lost them!"

Nadia smiles wide and says "Just when I thought you couldn't get any better..." And then she resumes the makeout session. Both of them are enthralled in this romantic moment and pretty soon, they both start getting the same idea about what they should be doing right now.

Tom stops kissing and, with a mischievous look on his face, asks "You think we could wait on dinner for a bit?" Nadia giggles and, with a sultry voice, says "You mean...you want dessert before the main course?"

Tom thinks for a bit, then says "I've had my fair share of meals in prison, but it's been almost a year since I had your dessert. And I think being with you is making my sweet tooth kick in again!" Nadia smiles wide, getting Tom's analogy. She gives him a kiss, and says "You're right. Dinner can wait."

And with that, Tom springs up off the recliner, holding a gasping Nadia like he was when he carried her up the steps. Tom stares deeply into Nadia's somewhat surprised face for a while. Nadia calms down and lightly touches Tom's face. She then smiles wide and says "Well, what are you waiting for? Carry me away, my king!" Tom smiles wide and says "With pleasure, my queen!"

The two then resume their makeout session as Tom carries Nadia into the bedroom and...well, in the interest of good taste, let's just say it ends up being a very nice night for the two of them.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	30. Ch 29: Here Comes The Sun

**HERE COMES THE SUN**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's apartment<strong>_

It's 8:32 in the morning. The sun shines through the bedroom window and the white curtains, illuminating Tom Falk and Nadia Santos in their bed. Both are facing each other, with Nadia on the left and Tom on the right.

Tom, who we see is wearing a white tank top with the rest of his body under covers, has his left arm around Nadia's hip and his right arm under her body. While he sleeps, we see Nadia is awake. She has her right arm on Tom's shoulder and her left hand is propping her head up.

As she watches Tom sleep, Nadia can't help but laugh as she watches Tom make funny faces in his sleep. He's probably lost in a dream and she doesn't want to wake him, so she tries to cover her mouth with her hand or a pillow, but she just can't help it. She can't stop laughing.

She couldn't be any happier to have Tom lying next to her again. Not just because he's simply there, but for what he represents for her: a new life, and more importantly, a normal life.

After a little while, Tom stirs a bit and Nadia quickly composes herself. And then, very slowly, Tom opens up his eyes.

He immediately sees Nadia looking back at him with an absolutely beautiful smile. Tom slowly smiles back and whispers sleepily "Hi." Nadia, still sort of sleepy herself, whispers back "Hi".

Still whispering, Tom asks "How long have you been awake?" Nadia softly replies "A little while. I've been watching you sleep. You make the funniest faces when you're dreaming! What were you dreaming about?"

Tom thinks for a bit, and says "I think it was about you, but I forgot what it was about when I saw your beautiful face just now." Nadia giggles a bit and says "When I saw your handsome face when I woke up, I forgot what I was dreaming about, too!"

Tom chuckles a bit as he starts rubbing Nadia's hip a bit with his left hand and asks "How did you sleep?" Nadia, with a wide smile, replies "Like a dream! How about you?"

Tom laughs a bit and says "Like a dream! Just knowing you were in my arms the whole night was probably why." Nadia starts rubbing Tom's shoulder and says "Plus, this bed has to be much more comfortable than the one you slept in for nearly a year!"

Tom yawns a bit and says "Well, I'm sure it's also more comfortable than a hospital bed for you, too." Nadia giggles and says "You have no idea! But it's not the bed so much as the man that sleeps next to me that makes me feel comfortable."

Tom lets out a flattered chuckle, then takes a deep breath and says "The fact that I'm lying here, looking into the eyes of an angel instead of an off-yellow wall, is making me wonder one thing..." Nadia inquisitively asks "What?"

Tom cracks a smile and asks "Am I still dreaming?" Nadia laughs a bit and asks "Why would you say that?"

Tom moves up his hand to start rubbing Nadia's side. "Because...I didn't know it was possible to be so happy lying next to someone...to touch something so beautiful...and to know that there's nothing but wonderful things in store for the two of us from now on. For the past 11 months, I've been daydreaming of a morning like this, and now, it seems like it's happening. So, I ask again...am I dreaming?"

Nadia digests his question for a bit, then leans in and gives Tom a soft kiss. When she's done, still staying close to him and with a very wide smile on her face, she softly says "The dream has become reality. Welcome to the first day of the rest of our lives!" Tom smiles wide at that and strokes some of Nadia's long black hair behind her right ear. He then leans in and gives her another kiss. When he's done, he says "I already can't wait for the second day!"

Nadia giggles as she scoots the rest of her body over to be closer to Tom. She then whispers "Last night was one of the best nights of my life." Tom now wraps his arms around Nadia, which is convenient since his right arm was pinned under her all this time. "It was for me, too. Great job on dinner."

Nadia looks at him a little offended and says "That's the first thing you say after all we did together? 'Great job on dinner?'" Now, Tom knows the sex they had was fantastic, but he's feeling a little playful this morning. He continues looks at her a little puzzled. "Oh, and great job on the wine selection? I mean, we both had no problem polishing off both bottles..."

Nadia then gives Tom a playful slap on the chest. "Tom! Are you just trying to get a rise out of me?" Tom laughs and says "Yeah, you're cute when you're angry!"

Nadia laughs a bit herself and says "You're so incorrigible! Maybe I should start tickling your feet, maybe then you wouldn't be so silly!" Tom squeezes her a bit and says "Don't...you...dare. You start doing that, and I start going on a hunt for your tickle spot!"

Nadia confidently laughs and says "Yeah, good luck with that! I'm not ticklish." Tom, with a confident look himself, says "Everyone has a weakness. I will find your weak spot, even if it takes me hours to do so."

Tom slides his left hand down to the bottom of Nadia's thigh and starts dancing his fingers on her skin, trying to tickle her. Nadia looks down at Tom's fingers at work, then looks back at him and says "Nope, not even close." Tom opens his eyes wide. "Gotcha! You just admitted that you ARE ticklish somewhere! Even if I have to tickle every square inch of your beautiful body, I will find it!"

Nadia snickers and says "And while you run your hands up and down my body, all you'll be doing is giving me a rather weak full body massage." Tom snaps his fingers and makes a face like he's been caught red handed. "Damn, you discovered one of the things I had planned for you today!"

Now very interested, Nadia asks "Oh really? At what point does the full body massage come about in your plans?" Tom replies "After we see Mike and David. I was going to take you to this spa that my ex-wife liked to go to when we lived in Los Angeles."

Nadia looks at him a little funny. "Aren't those places for people who need to relieve stress?" Tom blankly replies "Yeah, so?"

Nadia laughs and says "What have I been doing for the past 11 months? What tension do I need to relieve? I'm about as relaxed as a woman can get!" Tom, thinking quickly, says "Well, that's not all spas are for. It's also a place of beauty as well. They'll make you look and feel great when you're done..."

Now, it's Nadia's turn to be mischievous. She forms another offended look on her face and says "What, are you saying that I don't look good enough for you right now?" Tom closes his eyes and puts his left hand on his face. Feeling defeated, he says to himself "Wow, good job, Tom. Way to insult the woman who you loves you so much, she busted your ass out of prison not even 24 hours ago."

Nadia giggles at Tom's plight as she forces him to lie on his back as she rolls over and sits on Tom's hips, her legs spread out to each side of his body. She pulls Tom's hand off his face and says "Wow, I forgot how easy you are to tease!" Tom rolls his eyes and says "Ok, then I guess you don't need to go to the spa then! There, happy now?"

Nadia quickly exclaims "I do want to go! But, can we go another day? I wanted us stop by Sydney's and see Isabelle today. I've been dying to see her." Tom looks at her funny. "You mean, you haven't seen her yet? I thought you would have by now..."

Nadia quickly says "I wanted us to see her together." Tom raises his eyebrows up and down quickly and says "You kind of put the cart before the horse there..."

Nadia starts rubbing the top of Tom's left shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Like I said in the hospital...nothing's impossible if you want it bad enough. I knew I was going to get you out of prison. We're in this relationship together, and prison bars aren't strong enough to keep us apart." Tom cracks a small smile and says "You're such a one of a kind, and I'm glad I'm fortunate enough to be loved by you." Nadia leans over and, in Tom's face, says "And I'm lucky to be loved by you."

Nadia then gives Tom a peck on the lips, then goes to get out of bed. Tom grabs her by the waist and asks "Where are you going?" Nadia, still on top of Tom, replies "I'm just going to make us breakfast."

Tom shakes his head. "No, no, no. My beautiful queen is going to stay right here in this bed. I'm bringing breakfast to you." Nadia sarcastically laughs and asks "Are you serious? I've seen you cook! You're terrible!"

Tom sighs a little ashamed, then says "Listen, I want you to be as happy and relaxed as possible today. I've been planning this breakfast out for at least 6 months now. There's no way in hell I screw this up! Although, to be technical, you kind of spoiled my plans by waking up before me, but that's ok, breakfast in bed still works when you're awake." Nadia looks at him confused. "Why would I need to be asleep for breakfast in bed?"

Tom intently replies "Because that's kind of the point of breakfast in bed! You're supposed to surprise the person you love before he or she wakes up." Nadia smiles and says "Well, consider me surprised that you're willing to do this for me. How about that?"

Tom shrugs. "Works for me. Now, lie down and DON'T GET UP! Breakfast should be ready in 20-25 minutes." Nadia folds her arms defiantly. "And if I do get up?"

Tom gives her a cocky smirk. "Well, if you get out of bed, we'll just stay home today and make sure my old hockey VHS tapes work. I've got at least 12 hours of old Blues games recorded..." Nadia quickly hops off of Tom and lies down in her spot in bed. "I'm not going to move, I promise!"

Tom chuckles a bit as he looks at her funny. "I've never seen anyone so allergic to hockey!" Nadia emphatically replies "It's so dumb! A bunch of grown men holding sticks, slapping a black piece of rubber and participating in violent figure skating...who does that?"

Tom then grabs Nadia's shirt and says "Apparently, you're not _that_ angry with hockey...after all, that's an old hockey shirt of mine you're wearing." Nadia smiles sincerely and says "I remembered what you said in your letter about me wearing your old shirts. I wore this my first night back, when you were still in prison, and even though you weren't there in bed beside me, wearing your shirt made it feel a little like you were."

Tom looks genuinely touched by that and leans over to Nadia and, while lightly touching her face, says "You're such a sweetheart. I love you, beautiful." Nadia smiles back and says "I love you, handsome." The two then give each other a kiss, then Tom gets out of bed and goes to the kitchen.

Nadia remains lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and giggling a bit over the chat they just had. This morning has been so perfect...

All of the sudden, she hears Tom's stereo start to play The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun". Nadia smiles wide and looks out the door as the song keeps playing. She yells out "Great choice, I love this song!" Tom yells back from the kitchen "And I love that you love it!"

Nadia laughs and then goes back to patiently waiting to see what Tom will concoct for her in the kitchen. Meanwhile, she realizes why Tom picked this song when she starts hearing the lyrics:

_Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter  
>Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here<br>Here comes the sun, here comes the sun  
>and I say it's alright<em>

_Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces_  
><em>Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here<em>  
><em>Here comes the sun, here comes the sun<em>  
><em>and I say it's alright<em>

Nadia smiles wide as he listens to Tom singing the lyrics as well from the kitchen. The days Tom and Nadia now have together have been a long time coming, and for Tom, it was a lonely winter for him. But the smiles ARE back on their faces, and the sun has risen on the first day of the rest of their lives.

It's alright, indeed.

* * *

><p>About 25 minutes after he left the bedroom, Tom returns, holding a tray with a plate and cup of coffee on it. Nadia smiles wide at the sight of Tom again. She's sitting up with her back on a pillow propped up on the back wall, a little anxious to see what her fiance cooked up for her.<p>

Tom gives her an speculative look and says "Now, I know you've been trained to be ultra stealthy, but you better not have gotten up while I was cooking!" Nadia shakes her head quickly. "I didn't, I promise!"

Tom decides to trust her and walks over and sets her tray on her lap. As Tom grabs her cup of coffee and sets it on the table next to her, Nadia immediately looks down at her plate of food and looks at it funny. It looks like a hodge-podge of...well, she's not really sure what she's looking at. She looks up at Tom and asks "What on earth is this?"

Tom looks at her surprised and replies "You've never had huevos rancheros before?" Nadia thinks for a bit, then shakes her head. "No...what is it?"

Tom replies "Eggs, salsa, guacamole, and melted shredded cheddar cheese on a corn tortilla." Nadia picks up her fork and starts picking at the food a bit. She asks a little afraid "Am I going to like this?"

Tom folds his arms and says "Nadia, there's only one way to answer that question." Nadia gives Tom a peculiar look and then looks back down at her meal. She cuts off a forkful and takes a bite.

Tom looks on hopefully as Nadia chews on her food for a bit. And then, she raises her eyebrows and has a surprised look on her face. She gulps down her food and says "Wow, this is actually good!" Tom lets out a relieved sigh and says "Oh thank goodness! If I screwed up your breakfast in bed, I would have hated myself forever!"

Nadia then reaches over and grabs her coffee. She looks in the cup and asks "Why didn't you put creamer in my coffee?" Tom looks at her worried. "You only like sugar in your coffee...right?"

Nadia quickly looks back at Tom and exclaims "You remembered! I was testing you!" Tom playfully rolls his eyes and walks out of the living room. Nadia quickly asks "Where are you going?"

Tom yells from the living room "My breakfast is getting cold! I'll be right back!" Nadia giggles again as she goes back to eating her surprisingly enjoyable breakfast.

After a few seconds, Tom walks back into the bedroom holding a tray of breakfast and coffee of his own. He sets the tray on the bed, puts the coffee on his bedside table, and then lifts up the tray and sits down next to Nadia and puts the tray back on his lap.

As Tom settles in, Nadia looks over and asks "So, why huevos rancheros?" Tom looks over at her and blankly replies "Why not?"

Nadia shrugs as she looks back down at her food. "I mean, this meal seems a little...adventurous for you, that's all." Tom just smiles and says "So, are you saying that you're surprised by this meal?"

Nadia nods and says "Yeah, actually I'm very surprised!" Tom smiles wide and says "Good, then I accomplished my goal."

Nadia folds her arms and now looks at him suspiciously. "Have you been hustling me all this time? Have I really been sleeping with a famous chef?" Tom looks back at her funny. "It's not THAT good, is it?"

Nadia quickly replies "Well, no! I mean...yeah, it's good. It's just...this completely came out of nowhere! Where did you get the recipe for this?" Tom takes a bite of his huevos rancheros and sighs as he chews.

When he's done, he looks back over and says "Nadia, while I was trying to decide to tell you what happened after Matt Aguero died, I would often think back to various moments I had with Matt, and I remembered that his go-to breakfast meal was huevos rancheros. And just I thought that it would be fitting to have this for our first breakfast back together. Yes, I did want to impress you, but I also thought it'd be a way to honor him, seeing as he's been on my mind lately."

Nadia looks away and looks a little afraid about saying what she wants to say. Tom, chewing on another bite of his breakfast, looks over and notices Nadia's troubled look.

He asks "What is it, babe?" Nadia looks back over and flatly says "Tom, I talked to Mike yesterday about what you did after Matt died." Now worried himself, he asks "What all did he say?"

Nadia takes a deep breath and says "He said, after Matt died, you were like an animal and you were just possessed with rage. But he knows that's not who you are, and so do I. He says you regretted what you did almost immediately."

Tom takes a deep sigh and says "I felt bad for Matt and his family. He adored his wife and kid more than anything in this world, and he was taken way from them way too early in life. He wanted to get out of the Anti-Cartel, and was actually about to before he died. After that day, I made it my life's goal to get out of the CIA before it's too late. But, the reason I reacted wasn't so much the fact that he died. It was the savage way he was taken that sent me over the edge. My grandparents were always religious-types and they always preached 'Do onto others as they would do onto you.' And in the Anti-Cartel, I took those words and turned them into another motto: 'If they strike you or your crew, strike back harder.' So, I did just that after Matt died. I also snapped like that after you were tackled in the subway in Sovogda. I thought you were a goner as well. Also...I had a similar response when Sark said what he said about you in the interrogation room. Believe me, I normally wouldn't be that stupid to assault a protected witness in a top-secret facility. But, when I think about it, I was still bent out of shape over your predicament, and I shouldn't have gone back to work so soon. Anyway, what's done is done, and I don't want to speak about any of it ever again. Like you said, this is the first day of the rest of our lives, and none of the madness that we both have been through matters anymore."

Nadia quickly says "You're right, I'll drop the subject." Realizing she needs to change the conversation, she says "Great job on breakfast, by the way! Maybe you should cook more often!" Tom laughs and, already feeling better, says "Oh really? I thought you hated my cooking!"

Nadia gives Tom a curious look and says "There's nothing keeping you away from the kitchen when I cook. I can teach you a thing or two." Tom gives her a funny look back. "Wait a second, how many times have you told me 'get out, I got this' when I would try to help in the kitchen? If I had a nickel for every time you said that, I'd be able to buy this apartment building we live in!"

Nadia rolls her eyes and says "Well, I won't say that anymore. Besides, we do good work together. Look at these walls, for instance." Tom looks up and looks around at the orangish-red walls they painted. "Yeah, I had a lot of fun working with you on these walls. It helped me get my mind off of all the bullshit that was going on during that time."

Nadia, as she chews on another bite of her breakfast, says "And maybe, our next project can be working together on getting new furniture." Tom thinks for a bit about that, then asks "Are we sure we want to stay in this tiny place for the foreseeable future?"

Nadia shrugs as she grabs her cup of coffee and says "Yeah, what's wrong with it?" Tom replies "I don't know, I mean we could use more closet space for both of our things. Plus, I just thought it'd be nice to live in an actual home. And when we have a child together, we'll need a bigger place than this."

As she was sipping her coffee, Nadia froze at the mention of the word 'child'. She sets down her coffee and asks "You weren't planning on us having kids anytime soon, were you?" Tom reaches over and gently holds Nadia's hand. "Nadia, I'm in no hurry. I realize that the burden of pregnancy would fall entirely on you, and I would never put you through that if you weren't absolutely sure you wanted a child. As far as I'm concerned, the decision on children lies entirely on you. I was just thinking, though, if we found a permanent home for us, we should buy it with a kid in mind. I'm just thinking ahead is all."

Nadia just nods, but doesn't say anything as she takes her last bite of the breakfast. She's not ready to address the issue of children just yet. Among her dreams and hopes she's had all her life, a child wasn't really one of them. Not that she didn't want them, it just something she never really considered up until now.

However, she does start thinking about places she'd like to live. Then, she remembers something as she swallows her food. "You always had this dream of taking me down to San Felipe and living on the beach. Are you still wanting to do that?" Tom sighs and says "Nadia, when I first brought that up, you questioned me on the practicality of that. I thought about that in the last 11 months and you're right, it's not practical. Everything we know would be north of the border, and what about the schools down there? When we have a child, I want to make sure he or she has the best education possible. Again, I'm just thinking long term here."

Nadia goes to say something, but is interrupted by the house phone ringing. Tom looks over to the left and grabs the cordless phone on his table. However, as he does, he notices his green Mayan pocket knife lying on the table.

The sight of the knife immediately causes him to start having flashbacks. In quick procession, he starts remembering people that he's tortured, shot, or stabbed with that very knife in the line of work in the past, many of those people from his post-Aguero rampage. These thoughts trouble him.

He's interrupted by Nadia asking "Are you going to answer that or what?" Tom looks over at her and then back down at the phone, remembering it's in his hand. He hits the button to answer. "Hello?"

On the other end, Mike Walcott replies "Good morning!" Tom smirks and says "Good morning to you, Mike! What's up?"

Mike says "Just chowing on a bagel and watching the World Cup." Tom raises his eyebrows and says "Oh yeah, the World Cup is this year!" This causes Nadia's ears to perk up a bit and she looks over at Tom quickly.

Mike says "Yeah, I'm watching Argentina beat the snot out of Serbia. 4-nil in the second half." Tom says "Well, Nadia will like to hear that, hang on." Tom holds his hand up to the speaker and looks over at Nadia. "Argentina leads Serbia 4 to nothing." Nadia excitedly asks "What channel is the game on?"

Tom gets back on the phone. "What channel is that on?" Mike replies "ESPN." Tom looks over and says "ESPN". Nadia quickly grabs her tray and gets out of bed and runs to the living room.

Tom just shakes his head and replies "Well, thanks for kicking my girlfriend out of bed for me." Mike laughs and says "No problem! You two just waking up?"

Tom says "No, I just treated her to some breakfast in bed. We've been up a bit." Mike laughs and says "Uh-oh! I remember your ex-wife would always tell me about how bad of a cook you were!"

Tom snickers a bit and says "Well, I got lucky this time. Nadia liked my cooking. I made her some huevos rancheros." Mike quickly replies "Aaah, Matt Aguero taught me how to make that, too."

Tom sighs and says "Yeah. She tells me you talked to her about what I did after he died." Mike dismissively says "I just told her the truth, like you did. She took it well. Anyway, listen, we're going to have to take a rain check on the drinks today."

Tom, a little disappointed, asks "How come?" Mike says "We got a call from the CIA this morning. We have to head out for a mission. And speaking of the CIA, we need to talk about what we're going to do with our lives soon. You two are unemployed and soon, I will be, too."

Tom, now concerned, says "What? You didn't do something to piss the CIA off, did you?" Mike sighs and says "No, it's just...I spoke with Eduardo Munoz after we left your apartment and he seems to think I should get out before I screw up like you did and they set their crosshairs on me over the Matt Aguero thing. Apparently, they were none too happy when they couldn't meet their burden of proof on your attempted murder charge when we came through with the new evidence. I've actually been a little paranoid about all of that since your arrest. They haven't talked to me about it yet and quite frankly, I don't want to give them the temptation to, either."

Tom thinks for a bit, then says "You should talk to Eduardo again. He was telling me and Nadia that he could pull some strings to get us into ICE." Mike asks "Immigration and Customs Enforcement?"

Tom says "Yeah. I told him no because I don't want to take any risks anymore. Me and Nadia have both experienced our fair share of crazy shit these past couple of years and we want to live a quiet life now." Mike says "Well, you two don't HAVE to be field agents in ICE. You can just hang back in the office..."

Tom says "Yeah right. If I'm in ICE, I'll get the itch to go out into the field, and so will Nadia. I want to do something on a more part time basis." Mike asks "Why would you consider part-time work? I mean, you're nowhere near retirement age, shouldn't you still be looking at full-time gigs?"

Tom replies "Come on, Mike. You know the biggest reason I've been such a cheapass up until this point was to build a nest-egg for my early retirement, and I've saved up very well. Plus, you know about the money I have in Mexico." Mike quickly says "You still have those safehouses? Why haven't you moved the money up north yet?"

Tom replies "I don't want government officials on either side of the border looking at serial numbers when I try to move it up north. I'm just being careful." Mike thinks for a bit and says "You remember Emilio Fuentes, right?"

Tom thinks for a bit, then says "Yeah, the ambulance-chasing Mexican attorney, was a big friend of the cartels in down there. What about him?" Mike replies "He'll launder your money for you and you'll get to keep 95 cents on the dollar. He did the same for my skim money."

Tom, a little surprised, says "Really? You trusted that little shit?" Mike laughs and says "Keep in mind, we still have a ton of dirt on him as leverage. Just remind him about his misgivings that we let him walk on, and he'll take care of you. How much do you have down there?"

Tom thinks for a bit. "Well, somewhere around $500,000 American dollars each in both safehouses, in addition to weapons and ammo that I'm sure would fetch a decent penny on the black market. Emilio can help peddle those too, right?" Mike says "He sure can. I'll have him give you a call sometime."

As he says that, Tom hears Nadia scream in joy from the living room. "WOOO! FIVE TO NOTHING!" Tom and Mike both laugh at that. "Well, I better go see the Argentinian bloodbath for myself. Look, thanks so much again for your help. I'll never forget what you all did for me yesterday." Mike says "No problem, I'm glad you're a free man again."

Tom says "I'll start looking at possible dates me and Nadia can fly down to Baltimore. I'll talk it over with her. Anyway, I'll catch ya later. Strength and honor." Mike replies "Strength and honor, buddy." Tom then hangs up his phone and smirks. Now, he doesn't have to keep his skimming money in Mexico, which means he doesn't have to live in Mexico for the rest of his life either. He has options now.

Tom sets the phone back in the cradle and looks at his pocketknife conspicuously again. That knife represents a part of his life that he wants to bury forever, and to do that, he needs to get rid of that knife in a way where it can't come back into his life. But...how?

Nadia breaks up his thoughts by walking in to the bedroom and says "Hey, aren't you going to come watch?" Tom looks over and smiles as he admires Nadia standing there in his shirt, which goes down below her waist and over her panties. "You know, I think I'll just sit here and admire you for a while, if that's ok."

Nadia lets out a flattered laugh and sarcastically says "Tom, you're making me blush!" Tom laughs back and says "You know, maybe you should look into modeling. That'd be a safe thing to do in our new lives."

Nadia rolls her eyes and says "Tom, I'm 27 years old...at least, I think I am. Anyway, I'm too old to be a model. No one would take me!" Tom gets a menacing look on his face and says "If ANYONE tells you you're not good looking enough for them, I'll beat their ass!"

Nadia laughs again and says "I'm sure you would! But then, I'd have to find a way to get you out of prison again! So maybe modeling isn't so safe after all. Now come on! I'm not watching this game by myself!" Tom lifts up his tray and gets out of bed and says "As you wish, my beautiful queen!"

Nadia gives Tom a flattered smile and turns back to the living room. Tom carries his tray into the living room to watch the game with Nadia.

They would spend the rest of the morning watching the World Cup games.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Los Angeles area<strong>_

Tom and Nadia pull out of the parking lot of a go-kart track. With drinks with Mike and David canceled, Tom asked Nadia what she'd like to do today. Much to his surprise, she suggested go-karts...something she never has experienced before.

The windows are rolled down in their car. It's an absolutely picture perfect day in Los Angeles. Nadia has her arm hanging out of the window and looks like she's enjoying the breeze on her face.

Meanwhile, Tom looks a little upset. With frustration very evident in his voice, he says "I still cannot believe that you had to resort to cheating to beat me!" Nadia laughs and says "Aww, is someone being a sore loser?"

Tom looks at her playfully irritated and says "You spun me out on the final stretch! Who taught you that move?" Nadia looks at him a little dumbfounded that he said that, then says "Uh, the PIT maneuver was one of the first things I learned as an Argentine Intelligence agent! It's your fault that you lost, you left yourself wide open!"

Tom grumbles a bit. Then, he takes a deep breath and says "Well, I had fun...up until that point!" Nadia pats Tom on the shoulder and says "I did, too. I can't think of how many times we drove by that track on the way to work...it always intrigued me."

Tom nods and says "Yeah, I was curious about it, too. We had a really crappy go-kart track a couple towns over from where I grew up, but these guys in LA take their go-karting seriously." Nadia looks back out the window and says "It's amazing to see all of these places and buildings that we saw on the way to APO...only, this time, we're not going to work."

Tom nods and says "I know, and thank goodness for that. Maybe tonight, we can check out that ice cream place that you always were talking about." Nadia's eyes light up as she looks back to Tom and says "Yes! I'd love that!"

Tom smiles as turns the car right and starts going over a bridge that crosses a river. Tom looks over to the right and sees the river. He then looks down and puts his hand in his left pocket, where his Mayan pocketknife is. Suddenly, he gets an idea.

Tom pulls over his car to the right side of the street and parks behind a car. Nadia looks at him and asks "What are you doing? Sydney's waiting for us!" Tom looks at her with an intent look on his face and says "There's something I have to take care of."

Tom gets out of the car before Nadia can ask what he needs to take care off. She watches Tom walk in front of the car and over to the railing overlooking the river. And then, he pulls out his pocket knife and starts gazing at it. This causes Nadia to get worried and get out of the car.

As he stares blankly at his knife, he thinks back to all of the killing and torturing he did in the Anti-Cartel. He closes his eyes and looks troubled over his past.

Nadia cautiously puts her hand on Tom's back, which causes him to jump a bit. Nadia, a little concerned now, asks "Tom, what is it?" Tom looks at the knife for a while longer, and over at Nadia. "Did I ever tell you the backstory with this pocketknife?"

Nadia shakes her head and simply says "No." Tom looks down at the knife and says "I got this knife after my very first kill in the Anti-Cartel. I shot a mid-level drug trafficker named Nicandro Sagredo the Third in the eyeball. It was 1992, and we had tracked him down to Los Choapas, near the Yucatan Peninusla. He drew his gun to shoot at us, but my gun was quicker. I took this knife from his corpse and kept it as a memento."

Nadia looks at the strange symbol on the handle near the blade and asks "What is that symbol?" Tom blankly replies "The symbol is a Mayan bat. The bat symbolized the Mayans' belief that there is no such thing as good and evil. Now, to first glance, you look at a bat and they look like evil beings. But, the bat actually came to symbolize protection against evil forces. The bat was appreciated by the people they protected because they fought for them. This bat would symbolize how I did business in the Anti-Cartel. I was so arrogant and pigheaded back then, and except for what I did after Matt Aguero died, I had no concept that what I was doing to others was wrong. But, even though I was doing some horrible crap, I always justified it when I looked at this knife. I was doing bad things for good people, right? But, if what the Mayans say about there being no good and evil is true...then why do I feel so terrible about the things I did?"

Nadia puts her hand on Tom's shoulder and says "You're not a bad person, Tom. I've done some terrible things myself, but you're right, we did it for the right reasons. And now, we're free from all of that." Tom shakes his head. "No. I can't justify what I did anymore, not until I bury my past. Karma came around to bite me in the ass when I was subjected to Project Alloy. And I just had to endure almost a year in prison without the woman I love. If that isn't punishment for my sins, I don't know what is. I now believe that what goes around, comes around. So, from here on out, I'm going to live my life the way a normal person would. Normal hopes, normal dreams, normal life. And to do that, I have to renounce the man I was in order to be the man I want to be. You helped by giving me salvation after you read my letter. But, I can't escape my past unless I bury it completely."

Tom then turns towards the river and keeps looking at his knife, contemplating what he's about to do. And then...he does it. He winds up and throws the knife off the bridge and hard as he can. He and Nadia both watch as the knife splashes into the river below.

Tom takes a deep breath after the knife disappears from view and says "There, it's done." Nadia pats Tom on the back and says "Come on, Sydney's expecting us." Tom stares out at the river for a few seconds or two, then follows Nadia back to the car.

When Tom gets in the car, he puts his hands on the steering wheel and takes a deep breath. He then looks back over at Nadia and, with a smile on his face again, says "Ok, let's go see your niece!"

The two then drive off towards Sydney's apartment.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	31. Ch 30: Training Session Part 1

**TRAINING SESSION PART 1**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's apartment<strong>_

Tom and Nadia walk up to the front porch of Sydney's. Tom knocks on the door, then looks over at Nadia, who looks a little anxious. He smiles and says "Relax!" Nadia looks back at him and says "I'm just excited to see the baby! I can't believe my sister is a mom!"

Tom laughs and says "Yeah, I'm still having a hard time picturing that myself." Nadia looks at his face for a while when he turns away and asks "Are you going to be ok?"

Tom turns back to her and shrugs, then dismissively says "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Nadia looks away and says "The bridge...the knife...I'm just saying..."

Tom puts his hand on Nadia's shoulder. "Nadia, I feel great. Chucking that knife off the bridge relieved a lot of weight on my shoulders when it comes to my past. I'm more worried about you!" Nadia nervously laughs and says "I'll be fine!"

As she says that, a smiling Sydney unlocks and opens the door. She exclaims "Hey guys!" Nadia says "Hey!" and immediately gives Sydney a hug. As they hug, Tom tells Sydney "Hey Syd, good to see you."

Sydney laughs as she releases the hug from Nadia and gives Tom a hug. "And it's good to see you in something besides prison gear!" Tom laughs back and says "Yeah, I don't think I'll ever wear light blue again!"

Sydney releases the hug and asks "Why did you two knock? You both know you can just come right in!" Nadia playfully says "Well, SOMEONE forgot your door key..." Tom rolls his eyes and says "Don't mind your sister, she's just cocky because she beat me in go-karts today...even though she had to CHEAT!"

Nadia gives Tom a rather stiff slap on the shoulder, causing him to grab it quickly and yell "Ow!". Nadia, in a mocking defensive tone, says "All's fair in love and war, right?" Tom, rubbing his shoulder a bit, says "I guess so!"

Sydney just shakes her head in amusement over Tom and Nadia's interaction and says "You two..." Tom just gives her a shrug while Nadia keeps smirking at him. Finally, Sydney says "Come on in, someone's been waiting for you two."

Tom looks over at Nadia and motions for her to walk in. "After you, Earnhardt." Nadia smirks wider as she walks into the apartment. Tom looks at Sydney and gives her a roll of the eyes while Sydney just laughs.

Tom follows Nadia down the steps. Nadia looks around as she sets her purse down on the breakfast bar and says "Looks just like how I remembered!" Sydney says "Yeah, besides Isabelle's room, it's still the same old place!"

Sydney then walks ahead of them and says "Hang out here, I'll be right back!" Tom and Nadia patiently wait next to the breakfast bar.

Tom looks over at the breakfast bar seats and smiles wide as he fondly remembers the mornings he sat drinking coffee with Sydney, Nadia, and Vaughn early in his APO run. Meanwhile, all Nadia has on her mind is Isabelle. She was so happy for her sister when she heard she had the baby and was curious to see how Isabelle looked.

Sydney suddenly emerges from the nursery room, with a wrapped-up Isabelle in her arms. Tom smiles while Nadia beams out of excitement as she quickly walks over to Sydney.

Sydney hands Nadia the baby. Nadia looks at the sleeping baby in complete amazement for a few seconds. Then, she looks up at Sydney and says "Sydney, she's so precious!" Sydney smiles and simply replies "Thank you."

Tom walks over and looks over Nadia's shoulder at Isabelle. He smiles and looks at Sydney. "She looks so much like you already." Sydney look at him funny. "Really? I thought she took after Vaughn a lot."

Tom asks Nadia "What do you think?" Nadia, still staring at the baby, says "Yeah, she's definitely more like Vaughn...although she does have your cheeks, Sydney!" Sydney laughs and says "Oh, my cheeks aren't that chubby!"

Tom and Nadia both laugh a bit. Nadia then stands there for a while, gazing deeply at Isabelle's face, still digesting that she really does exist. She then looks at Tom and asks "Do you want to hold her?" Tom smiles and says "Absolutely."

Nadia gently hands Isabelle over to Tom. Tom holds her gently and looks into her face and smiles. He tells her "I'm so happy to see you finally." Sydney says "I'm happy you can see her, too. I would have brought her to prison, but they wouldn't..."

Tom looks up and cuts her off. "No, it's ok, I understand. I'm not sure a prison would be the best place to get a first impression of someone, anyway." Sydney blankly replies "Tom, she's a baby. I seriously doubt she'd remember you in prison clothing years down the road!"

Tom nods and says "You have a point there." Tom then looks back at Isabelle and, in a pretend-baby voice, says "Who are these two strange people that came into your house, huh? Who are they?"

Nadia giggles and says "It's your Auntie Nadia and your Uncle Tom!" Tom smirks a bit, then looks at Nadia and says "Actually, wouldn't I be an uncle-in-law to Isabelle?"

Nadia then says "Well, if you want to be technical, you're actually nothing at the moment! We're not married yet!" Sydney gasps a bit and says "Oh, that's right! You two need to get married! Any idea on the date yet?"

Tom looks at Sydney irritated and says "Oh not you too!" Sydney looks at him confused and asks "What?" Nadia laughs a bit and says "Tom got a little snappy at me when I brought that up on the way home from prison yesterday."

Tom now looks at Nadia irritated and says "I didn't get snappy! You asked me the first 20 minutes after I got out of prison if I thought of a wedding date! And guess what? 24 hours later, I really haven't had time to think about that!" In an intent, yet soft voice, Nadia says "Shh! You'll wake Isabelle!"

Tom suddenly composes himself and says "Oh, sorry! Forgot what I was doing for a bit there..." Sydney smiles and says "That's ok, Isabelle is a very sound sleeper!"

Tom nods and says "Maybe we shouldn't tempt fate here. Do you want to take her before my dumbass wakes her up, Sydney?" Sydney reaches out her hands and says "Sure, I'll take her." Tom gently hands Sydney the baby and she walks back into the nursery.

Nadia watches Sydney carry Isabelle away and then looks back at Tom with a big smile on her face. Something about seeing Isabelle has her feeling really gushy. Tom smiles back at her and says "She's a doll, isn't she?" Nadia, almost bursting out of joy, says "She is! She's so beautiful!"

Sydney then walks back out of the nursery and asks them "Can I get you two anything?" Tom looks back at Sydney and says "I'll have a cup of your world-famous coffee if you still have any." Nadia looks at Tom strangely and says "Coffee? It's 4 in the afternoon..."

Sydney says "Oh, no, it's fine! I brewed a full pot a couple hours ago and I only drank a cup. I was going to throw it out, but it should still be good." Tom smiles and says "Sounds good to me." Nadia, despite not being in the mood for coffee, says "I'll take a cup, I guess."

Tom and Nadia then take their seats at the breakfast bar while Sydney pours them both cups of coffee. Tom then looks around and says "There's not much I miss about my time at APO, but I do miss the mornings I spent drinking coffee with you two before going to work. It felt great to be a part of something again." Nadia giggles as she recollects something and says "I'll never forget the first night you stayed over...you crashing on the couch and having to wear a suit that was way too big for you the next day!"

Sydney laughs at that as she pours coffee into Tom and Nadia's cups. She then says "Oh yeah, that's also where Nadia told the story of how you two first met!" Tom laughs as he recollects that and says "You know, my grandmother would always tell me when I was growing up that there was some woman out there somewhere that will just take my breath away when you least expect it. Well, she was right. I just wasn't expecting to meet my soulmate in Argentina of all places!" Nadia giggles at that, but doesn't say anything.

Sydney then asks "Are you two staying for dinner?" Nadia says "Well, we weren't sure what your plans were."

Sydney turns and gives Tom and Nadia their coffee. As she does, she says "I was going to start making dinner in a couple hours, and it'd be nice to have my sister helping me again." Nadia smiles wide and says "I'd love to help. What are we having?"

Tom folds his hands in prayer and says "Please say spaghetti...please say spaghetti..." Sydney and Nadia give Tom a look, and then they look back at each other. With a smile, Nadia playfully asks "How about spaghetti?"

Sydney giggles a bit and says "Alright, spaghetti it is!" Tom pumps his fist and says "Yes!" Nadia looks over at Tom and just shakes her head. Sydney then says "I thought you would have grown tired of my spaghetti after all these months."

Tom shakes his head. "Not at all. You don't know what your home cooking meant to me in prison, Syd. Not just because it was infinitely better than the crap they tried to feed me, which it was. It just showed you cared. I gave you a chance to throw me out with the garbage and leave me to rot and you stuck with me." Nadia, now curious, asks "Did something happen between you two before you went to prison?"

Tom looks over at Nadia and says "I said some stupid things to her after The Lifeforce failed to heal your infection. I was just upset over what was going on at the time." Sydney then says "It's water under the bridge. I forgave you for that a long time ago. I know you didn't really mean it."

Tom shakes his head and says "That's my biggest flaw...I sometimes react before I think. Anyway, I will never forget what you did for me. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Sydney smiles and says "Don't mention it."

Tom then remembers something. "Speaking of doing things for me, I was told that you played a role in Nadia's plan to get me out of prison. What did you do?" Sydney looks over at Nadia, smiles, then back at Tom. "Oh, nothing much. I drove Nadia back into APO so she could get your video file, and then when she fainted..."

Tom looks over at Nadia and looks at her stunned. "You fainted at APO?" Nadia quickly replies "I had to in order to get the video file out without being detected. I had to get out of there quickly so I could get the evidence in before the hearing. I was determined to get you home." Tom gives Nadia a thankful smile.

Sydney then says "After that, I took Nadia to meet with Mike and David and, after David fixed your video, I dropped off the video file to Director Chase and said it showed up anonymously in my mailbox this morning." Tom nods his head, putting the pieces together. "Thanks for helping out, Syd. You didn't have to do all that."

Sydney looks over at Nadia and said "My sister asked for my help. Besides, you're my friend, too." Tom smiles and gives Sydney a pat on her hand as he takes another drink of his coffee.

Nadia then looks concerned and asks Sydney "What did your dad have to say when he heard about what I did?" Sydney sighs and says "He doesn't know about what we did to get the video file, although he does have his suspicions, but when he heard you resigned after breaking into Sark's room, he was disappointed. He did understand why you did what you did, though. In fact, he was surprised to hear you even wanted to come back after what you went through."

Nadia takes a sip of her coffee and says "I hope he's still coming to our wedding..." Sydney smiles and says "He'll be there. He's not angry with you at all. In fact, he's happy that Tom was able to get out of prison finally."

Tom takes a sip of his coffee and asks "So, how are things at APO lately?" Sydney sighs and looks down. "I really can't talk about APO issues to non-personnel. Believe me, it's not that I don't want to..." Nadia holds up her hand and says "That's fine. We both have made a vow to put all we went through behind us, so it's probably good that we don't know what's going on."

Sydney smiles and says "Thanks for understanding. But, I do have to ask...how are things with you two?" Tom and Nadia both look at each other, smiling widely. Then, at the same time, they simply say "Great."

Sydney starts laughing out of amusement, but is forced to stop when she hears her phone chime from the end of the breakfast bar. Sydney walks over to her phone and looks shocked at what she sees. Tom notices and says "Uh oh...APO 911?"

Sydney looks over and nods. Nadia concernedly asks "But you just got back from a mission!" Sydney sighs and says "Let me find out what this is about."

Sydney then walks off to her bedroom, leaving Tom and Nadia to wonder what's going on. Tom looks over at Nadia and says "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Nadia shakes her head and says "I still can't believe she worked through her pregnancy while balancing her job. And now, she has to go again! I feel so terrible for her!"

Tom sighs and says "I know, it sucks. It really bothered me that I wasn't able to lend her a hand these past months." Nadia smiles wide and says "Now we can!" Tom looks at her a little funny at first, then slowly forms a smile when he realizes what she's talking about.

Meanwhile, Sydney comes walking out of her bedroom and says "I have to go out on a mission. I won't be back until tomorrow. I'm so sorry, I know you two just got here." Tom shakes his head and says "Hey, we know how it works. Don't worry about it."

Sydney then starts dialing a number as she walks towards them. Nadia notices and asks "Who are you calling?" Sydney looks up and says "My babysitter. She's not going to be happy about staying overnight again..."

Tom stands up and says "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sydney looks at him strangely. "What?" Tom looks over at Nadia, then back at Sydney and says "You have two unemployed ex-CIA agents in your house with nothing better to do tonight. We'll watch Isabelle!"

Sydney starts shaking her head quickly. "Oh no, I wouldn't ask you two..." Nadia stands up herself and says "Sydney, we WANT to do this! I'd love to babysit my niece!"

Sydney clicks off her phone and says "Really? I don't want to burden you two..." Tom exclaims "It's not a burden, trust me! We'll take care of her! Besides, you already agreed when you clicked off the phone."

Sydney breathes a sigh of relief and says "Thank you so much, you don't know what a relief you two are! I just KNEW my babysitter would have something else to do tonight." Nadia gives Sydney a hug and says "We're here for you. We'll take good care of Isabelle."

Tom then asks "Alright, we need to know how to make her formula, when her feeding schedule is, when she sleeps and where her diapers are." Sydney smiles and says "I can answer that first one for you right now..." She then she walks over to the fridge and opens the door. Tom and Nadia look in and see a whole row of bottles with formula already made.

Tom, in total astonishment over Sydney's preparedness, says "Now I know where Nadia gets her organization skills..." Nadia looks over at Tom incredulously and says "I was organized before I met you!"

Sydney laughs and says "Isabelle usually eats every two or three hours. She ate a little over an hour ago, so she's good for a little while. But she'll definitely let you know when she's hungry, just keep the baby monitor nearby. She'll usually take a power nap after she feeds and she's really good about sleeping at night. And, to answer your last question, Tom, I keep her diapers next to her crib. Think you're up to it?"

Tom smirks and says "I think we can handle it" Tom looks over at Nadia and asks "What about you? Are you up to this?" Nadia smiles and says "Absolutely!"

Sydney smiles wide and says "Great! Thank you two so much!" Tom grabs his car keys out of his pocket and says "No problem. We're glad to help." Sydney then goes to her bedroom so she can change. Tom, meanwhile, looks over at Nadia and says "I'll grab us a change of clothes, some toiletries, and our airbed and I'll come right back, ok?"

Nadia intently says "Bring back a pizza...and don't forget my nightgown!" Tom leans over and says "I wouldn't dare. I love you, beautiful." Nadia giggles and says "I love you, handsome." The two then give each other a quick kiss and Tom heads for the door.

Nadia, meanwhile, reaches into her large purse and pulls out a folder. On the cover, it shows a beach and ocean and says "Welcome to your San Felipe vacation!" on the front. Nadia smiles at seeing the folder and says "I think I'll take care of this while he's gone..."

* * *

><p>About an hour or so later, Tom returns to Sydney's apartment, trying to keep a pizza box and 12 pack of soda balanced while carrying two luggage bags on his shoulder.<p>

He closes the door and he immediately hears Nadia singing from the nursery. This surprises Tom a bit...he's never known her to sing before.

Tom walks down the steps and sets the soda and pizza on the breakfast bar. As he does, he spots the San Felipe folder that Nadia had earlier. He looks at it confused and mumbles "How did my post-Sovogda vacation itinerary get here?"

Tom then sets down the luggage bags, still confused over the folder. Meanwhile, he keeps hearing Nadia sing something he can't understand at first from the nursery.

He slowly walks over to the nursery and spots Nadia sitting in a rocking chair next to the crib, holding a groggy Isabelle in her arms and softly singing her lullaby. Finally, Tom makes out what she's singing...(rough English translation in parenthesis)

_Duérmete mi niña, duérmete mi amor, (Sleep, my child, sleep my love,)  
>Duérmete, pedazo de mi corazón, (Sleep, piece of my heart,)<br>que tengo que hacer, (For I have things to do,)  
>lavar tus pañales sentarme a coser, (to wash your nappies, sit down to sew,)<br>Ese niña quiere que la duerma yo, (This child wants me to lull her)  
>dormir en mis brazos y en mi corazón. (to sleep in my arms and on my heart.)<em>

Tom stands leaning on the doorway, watching Nadia just completely transfixed on singing Isabelle this lullaby. She looks so happy...so in her element right now, that Tom thinks she's almost glowing. He's never really seen her like this before, even in their tender moments they have together. It pleases him a lot seeing her this way.

Tom decides he has to capture this moment. As Nadia starts over with her lullaby, he walks back away from the nursery and opens up his luggage bag and pulls out a digital camera.

Tom, trying not to disturb her, tip-toes back to the nursery. He stands in the doorway and turns on the digital camera. He zooms in on Nadia and Isabelle. When the picture finally focuses, and seeing Nadia continues to pay him no mind, he takes a picture.

The flash goes off, which causes Nadia to jump a little bit and stop her singing. Isabelle, meanwhile, is now out like a light and didn't notice the flash at all. A surprised Nadia softly says "Tom, you should have told me you were taking a picture!"

Tom shakes his head as he lowers the camera. Trying not to wake Isabelle back up, he says "No way. That was the most perfect picture I just took of you. Here, look..." Tom walks over to Nadia and shows her the picture on the screen: Nadia looking down on Isabelle with the most joyful smile. Nadia smiles and says "That is a good picture...and I normally hate looking at myself in pictures."

Tom looks down at Isabelle and asks "So, how's Izzy doing?" Nadia looks at him funny and asks "Izzy?"

Tom looks at her blankly and says "Well, Syd is short for Sydney, so Isabelle needs a short name, too! Do you want me to call Isabelle "Is"? Nadia hides her laugh as to not wake Isabelle and says "Why not just call her by her full name?"

Tom shrugs. "Too many syllables." Nadia just shakes her head as she gets up out of her seat. "Well, to answer your question, _Isabelle_ woke up a little early for her next meal. She drank a WHOLE bottle. I burped her, changed her diaper and after that, I just sat here for a while, holding her in my arms. I love my little niece so much!"

Tom rubs Nadia's back and says "You looked like you were in your element just now. And when did you learn to sing? That's new." Nadia gently sets Isabelle back in her crib, then turns to Tom. "At the orphanage, we'd go to church. I really enjoyed singing growing up. I forgot all these years how singing seemed to calm me down and put me in a good mood. It allowed me to forget that I was abandoned. I was in the youth choir at the church until I left the orphanage."

Tom walks over to Nadia and puts his hand on her back as she looks down at Isabelle. "Well, I think you've earned yourself two fans tonight. You really have a beautiful voice." Nadia looks over and smiles. "Thank you."

Tom then asks "Where did you learn that song you were singing? It was beautiful." Nadia replies "The song's called 'Duérmete mi niña'...or 'Sleep My Child' in English. Sophia...I mean, Elena would sing that to us when we were little to get us to go to sleep. " Nadia then closes her eyes and sighs. "I really haven't thought about Elena since I recovered. I haven't wanted to. It's hard for me to think about my childhood without everything being so clouded by who my orphan mother really was, and why she was so nice to me."

Tom ponders what she said for a bit, then says "You know, from what you told me, it did seem that Elena did do her best to take care of you. Yeah, the reasons for doing that might have been completely messed up, but still...you turned out just fine, and like I said in the rain yesterday...look at us now. The best laid plans of prophets and their evil followers often go awry." Nadia lightly giggles a bit and says "That's true, isn't it? And now, we're free to live our lives as we please with the tools we've been given...well, in my case, with the tools you're giving me."

Tom looks at her a little strangely at that. "Wait, what do you mean? We both benefit having each other in our lives." Nadia looks down and timidly says "It's just...I don't have a ton of money saved up, but you do. And yet, that doesn't matter to you, you still want to share everything there is about you with me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you wanting me to be a part of your life. Tom, for the first time in my life, I finally feel like I can be myself. It feels like I'm seeing and breathing and enjoying life for the first time. And I owe so much of this joy I'm feeling to you. You didn't have to wait for me all these months...but you did. And now, you want to share the rest of your life with me by your side. I'm so blessed that you're in my life...I don't know where I'd be without you."

Tom gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek and then gives her a warm hug. Still hugging, he says "I can say the exact same things that you just said, and it'd be true. Well, maybe except the money thing, but I don't mind sharing that with you at all. After all, it's been my dream to leave the CIA with a solid nest egg to share with the woman I love and be able to take care of her and my future children. I'm so glad it's you that I can share this dream with. You don't know how happy that fact makes me." Tom releases the hug and sees Nadia has shed a few tears. Tom wipes them away and, now concerned, says "Hey, what is it?" Nadia, a little weepy, says "I'm just so happy someone thinks that much of me!"

Tom shakes his head and looks a little troubled now. "Nadia, you're my life! You're everything to me, and of course I want nothing but the best for us going forward! I love you more than you'll ever know!" Nadia quickly replies "And I love you, too!" Nadia takes a deep breath to compose herself and says "I'm so sorry...I don't know why I got so emotional there!"

Tom puts his hands on her shoulders and says "It's ok, babe. And now that you told me just how full of confidence you are nowadays, I now know why you've been such a ball-breaker since we got back together!" Nadia giggles and gives Tom a playful shove. "Of course! I'm just happy to be alive!"

Tom then playfully smirks and says "Alright, now that you're in a good mood, we need to discuss something else...something that I think you might know the answer to. What's with the San Felipe folder on the counter?" Nadia looks up at the ceiling and looks like she just got caught red-handed. "Oh, no! I was going to surprise you!"

Tom now folds his arms and looks at her curious. "Ok, what has my beautiful queen been up to?" Nadia smiles wide as she looks back at Tom and asks "Do you have any plans three weeks from tomorrow?"

Tom laughs astonished at that and says "Uh, hello? I just got out of prison, you just woke up from a nearly year-long coma...no, I haven't really thought that far ahead." Nadia then grabs Tom's hands and says "Well, don't make any plans! I'm taking us to San Felipe!"

Tom's jaw drops a bit. "You're doing what?" Still smiling wide, Nadia says "I was so excited over our vacation after you proposed to me on the plane. Everything you've told me about this place sounds so wonderful! And when I returned home, I found your vacation itinerary in a kitchen drawer. When I started looking it over, I knew I wanted to do this. I thought you did too, but you surprised me when you started having doubts over the place..."

Tom shakes his head and says "I have doubts about making it a permanent place to live! It's still a great vacation spot...I just wish we could have talked about this idea of yours..." Nadia giggles excitedly and says "Again, I wanted to surprise you! I got us the villa that you had reserved for us before, so even though it's almost a year later, we're still going to San Felipe...just as you had originally planned."

Tom, still surprised at this development, says "Ok, how long were you planning us being down there?" Nadia replies "Two weeks, starting three weeks from tomorrow. I figured that would give us enough time to see if San Felipe would be a viable place to live."

Tom rolls his eyes and says "But Nadia, we'd be so far away..." Nadia puts her hand over Tom's mouth and says "You wanted me to believe in this place before everything that happened. Well, you convinced me to at least give it a chance...so now, I have to convince you!"

Tom takes a deep sigh and says "Are you sure you want to live so far away from Sydney and Isabelle?" Nadia gives him a wry look and says "You said yourself that it's only about 4 hours from LA, and they do have an airport for private and chartered flights. We wouldn't be THAT far away...gosh, I can't believe I'm having to twist your arm over this after all the good things you said about it before!"

Tom thinks about that last statement for a bit, then looks back at Nadia and smiles. "Consider my arm twisted. I'll give it a shot. Plus, living down there make our lives easier with the money I have in the safehouses." Nadia inquisitively asks "How so?"

Tom replies "Well, if I wanted to move that money across the border, I'd have to launder it, and that's risky as hell. Trying to launder close to a million dollars plus the money I'd get when I peddle the guns and ammo isn't easy." Nadia looks surprised at that. "I thought you said you had closer to $900,000?"

Tom smirks and says "Upon retrospect, I may have been off a little. I hear the Mexican Peso has rallied on the U.S. Dollar of late. Thankfully, I washed a good chunk of the money with new bills after Mexico introduced new Pesos in 1996, so maybe I wouldn't have to launder all of it, but if we stay in Mexico...then maybe I won't have to launder the money at all. I'll peddle the guns and ammo, close down those safehouses and keep the money on-site at our house." Nadia smiles wide and says "See? You're already warming up to the idea!"

Tom laughs and says "Yeah, I guess I am. But, I still think that I should find something to do, at least on a part-time or contract basis just to make sure we stay afloat." Nadia curiously says "I could work, too..."

Tom then looks down at the floor, then back up at Nadia. "Nadia, I know you didn't warm up to the idea of kids when I floated it across earlier this morning, but I don't want the mother of my children working while our children are growing up. And yes, I'm taking a pretty hard stance on this." Nadia thinks for a bit, then grabs Tom's right hand gently. In a reassuring voice, she says "It's not that I don't want children. It's just...I haven't really given it that much thought before."

Tom quickly replies "And believe me, I'm not putting any pressure on you." Nadia gives Tom a reassured smile and says "I know. And actually, you're probably right about me working. After all, raising a child is a full-time job. In fact, I don't know how Sydney does it while trying to balance her job!"

Tom chuckles a bit and says "Well, she's got two babysitters who just recently became available. That helps." Nadia giggles and says "Yeah, that does help. Plus...what we're doing with Isabelle is like training for children of our own!"

Tom smiles wide when she says that. He really would like a kid of his own one day, and the fact that Nadia is starting to envision having children herself is giving him some encouragement.

Meanwhile, Nadia turns away and looks like she just conjured up an idea. Tom, noticing Nadia now in deep thought, says "I've seen this look before on you...what are you thinking about?"

Nadia looks back up with a confident smile and wraps her arms around Tom's neck. With that same smile, she says "I just realized there's something else we can do in San Felipe besides relaxing and enjoying ourselves!" Tom puts his hands on Nadia's hips and temptingly asks "And what do you have in mind, babe?"

Nadia quickly replies "We can get married!" Tom's jaw drops a bit and his voice goes back to normal as he says "Well, that came out of nowhere..."

Nadia cuts him off purposefully. "I'm willing to bet there's a nice, small church in San Felipe that would be perfect for our wedding! We'll do it a week into our vacation, and just have our honeymoon in San Felipe right afterwards! It'd be perfect!" Tom lets out a sudden sigh and says "Isn't a month a little too short of notice for our friends? Just imagine when we break the news...'Oh, hey, could you be in Mexico next month?.' It's not like we're asking them to go down the street here."

Nadia rolls her eyes and says "A month is plenty of time! Plus, think about who would all come: Sydney, Mike, David, Jack, Eduardo...Marshall maybe...oh geez, is that it?" Tom quickly says "My sister Karen and my nephew Danny, and I'm willing to bet they don't have passports."

Nadia intently replies "Sydney can help them with that!" Tom nods his head and thinks for a bit. Then, he asks "What about your father?"

Nadia's smile erases and she thinks about that for a bit. Then, she says "He should at least know it's happening..." Tom cuts her off and says tersely "He's not invited, Nadia."

Nadia nods quickly and says "Oh, I know. I could just drop off a note in his mailbox, I guess. Anyway, what do you think?"

Tom thinks about it for a bit, then smiles wide. "Nadia, I would love for us to get married in San Felipe. Let's do it."

Nadia yells out "Yes!" and leaps up and hugs Tom out of joy. Tom smiles as she hugs Nadia back, then says "Shh! Don't wake the baby!" Nadia giggles a bit and says "Sorry!"

Nadia then backs off a bit so she can look into Tom's eyes. Tom strokes some of Nadia's long black hair back and, with a wide smile, says "This time next month, you're going to be my wife. I can't wait to start calling you that." Nadia, with her arms still wrapped around Tom's neck, says "And you're going to be my husband this time next month. I can't wait, either!"

Tom then leans in and gives Nadia a long kiss. However, after a few seconds, he releases as he then realizes something. "Hey, our pizza is getting cold! Let's eat!" Nadia says "Yeah, I totally forgot about that...plus, there's more World Cup games on!"

Nadia then quickly scampers out of the nursery. Tom quickly follows her out.

For the rest of the night, they would enjoy a nice night of pizza, soccer, and babysitting together.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	32. Ch 31: Training Session Part 2

**TRAINING SESSION PART 2**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment<strong>_

Tom and Nadia lie peacefully on their airbed in Sydney's living room in their usual formation: Tom on the right and Nadia on the left. It's 6:03 in the morning and some outside light has made it's way into the apartment from the rising sun.

Almost miraculously, Tom and Nadia haven't heard from Isabelle all night. In fact, Nadia woke up about an hour ago and was worried about that fact. She grabbed the baby monitor and heard Isabelle breathing, so any concerns were alleviated and she went right back to bed.

This time, however, Tom and Nadia are woken up by the sound of Isabelle crying. Tom pops his head up and looks over at Nadia, who's also risen and is rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Tom puts a hand on her shoulder and tells her "I got this." Nadia groggily says "Are you sure?"

Tom smiles and gives her a peck on the cheek and tells her "Yeah, go back to sleep, babe." Nadia lies back down, but doesn't immediately go to sleep. Tom, in a white tank top and boxers, gets up and quickly staggers over to the kitchen and grabs one of Sydney's pre-made bottles of formula.

He then quickly goes into the nursery and turns on the light. Isabelle's still crying and Tom softly says "Shh! Your Uncle's here! It's ok!" Tom keeps walking over to the crib and sees Isabelle raising a fuss. Tom sets the bottle on a small table next to the rocking chair, then picks up Isabelle gently.

Tom sits down on the rocking chair, grabs the bottle, and puts it in Isabelle's mouth. She immediately stops crying and starts sucking down her breakfast. Tom smiles and says "There, everything's ok now. Your uncle is here to save the day!" Isabelle looks up at Tom blankly as she feeds.

Tom, still looking back down at her with a smile, says "Hey, do you want to hear a story? My grandma would always tell me fairy tales while I ate." Isabelle doesn't say anything...she's more focused on her breakfast.

Tom then starts off. "Well, this isn't a fairy tale, per say, but it almost sounds like one! Let me tell you the story about how your Uncle Tom met your Auntie Nadia! It all started five years ago, when your uncle was sent on a mission to Argentina. He and three others were sent there to rescue this very smart doctor who was being held captive by some very bad people."

While he's telling his story, Nadia decides she's not going back to sleep and gets up. As she stands in her nightgown, she hears Tom start to tell his story and starts walking towards the nursery.

Back in the nursery, Tom continues his story. "Your uncle did something very foolish and tried to sneak around the camp where these bad men were holding the doctor. He was caught, but he escaped before something bad happened to him and his friends. But one of his friends was able to kill one of the leaders of these bad people during your uncle's escape, and created an opening to enter the camp the next day. So, your uncle came up with a plan, and later that night, your uncle and his three friends went to the hotel bar to meet with two Argentine Intelligence agents about his plan. Your uncle got up to get everyone something to drink, but the bartender wouldn't help him until this _beautiful_ young woman got his attention and helped him out." Tom smiles wide as he leans in closer to Isabelle. "That beautiful woman was your Auntie Nadia!"

By now, Nadia has walked over to the nursery and is now leaning in the doorway, intently watching Tom feed Isabelle and tell his story. Tom hasn't noticed her yet as he's completely focused on Isabelle.

Tom, still leaning in, continues. "Your auntie then turned her head to face your uncle, and at that moment, your uncle fell in love with her, just like that! It was like he was under this magical spell...and, as your uncle and auntie would learn later, they were...in a sense. Your auntie was the fairest, most beautiful woman in all of Argentina, and as your uncle would find out, she was also the kindest as well." Nadia looks down and blushes at Tom's compliment. Meanwhile, Tom continues his story to Isabelle. "While we were saving that nice doctor, your auntie would save your uncle's life when he tried to do something silly. And it was at that very moment...that your uncle realized that your Auntie Nadia was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But, there was a problem...your uncle was already married to another woman. So, your uncle couldn't ask out your auntie on a date. This fact upset your uncle so badly, it caused him to go to therapy after the mission!" Nadia laughs out loud and causes Tom to jump a bit.

Tom looks over at Nadia standing in the doorway and asks "Hey, why are you awake?" A smiling and amused Nadia says "Because, I wanted to hear your story! You really went to therapy after that mission?"

Tom looks back down at Isabelle, who's still intently sucking on the bottle. "Yes, Isabelle. Your uncle saw a psychiatrist after the mission. He was so hurt that he couldn't be with your auntie, that he needed professional help to make him feel better. Your uncle had imagined being with Nadia for the rest of his life and everything about that seemed so right to him...it was like he found the one thing he was searching for all his life." Nadia looks touched by that as Tom continues. "But, he had to stay loyal to his wife. Your uncle and auntie would remain very good friends for a couple years until she was transferred to a new division and disappeared from your uncle's life. And then..." Tom looks down and pauses for a bit, trying to figure out how he's going to tell this next part.

Nadia, seeing where Tom is in the story, walks in and starts saying softly "And then, Isabelle, your uncle and auntie would go through some awful times the next couple years. But they never forgot about each other..." Tom looks up at her a little surprised at that. "Really?" Nadia smiles as she stands over Isabelle and says "Really. I thought about you a lot, too."

Tom nods and looks back down at Isabelle and takes over the story. "And then, one day, your auntie would join APO with your mommy and, not a month after her first day, your uncle was recruited by your grandpa to join them, and he quickly learned that fair, kind, beautiful woman he met in Argentina was there as well. And that made him so happy. Your uncle was still suffering from the hard times he went through, and when he found your auntie again, he found his smile again. He knew he had to be there for your Auntie Nadia and protect her from anyone that would do her harm." Nadia rubs Tom on the shoulder and, with a smile, says "And he has. Your uncle made your auntie very happy when he showed up for his first day. And he's lived up to his promise to protect me and be there for me."

Tom looks away from Isabelle and, in a defeated voice, and says "Even though that it's really your auntie that has protected your uncle since they reunited." Nadia looks at him a little funny. "What do you mean?" Tom looks up at Nadia, then back down at Isabelle. "Your auntie has saved your uncle's life three times. The first time was in Argentina, when they first met. The second was after your uncle died and was revived by your auntie's blood. And the third...was when your auntie forgave your uncle for being a bad guy at a time in his life and rescued him from prison! Your uncle hasn't done nearly as much for your auntie..."

Nadia leans down to Isabelle and reassuringly says "But, what your uncle doesn't realize is that he's done more good for her auntie than any man ever has, and he's helped out your auntie in so many ways...ways that he probably doesn't realize. He might think he's a bad guy sometimes, but he's really the sweetest...kindest...most gentle man your auntie has ever known, and your auntie loves your uncle very much for that." Tom looks up at Nadia with a touched smile, then looks back down at Isabelle. "And your uncle loves your auntie very much, too."

Tom looks back up and stares into Nadia's eyes for a little while, and then back down at Isabelle until she finishes her bottle and pulls her head back when she realizes there's nothing more to drink. Tom raises his eyebrows as he pulls the bottle away and says to Isabelle "Wow! You were hungry!" Nadia looks at Isabelle's face and says "She probably needs to be burped."

Tom sets the empty bottle down, then lifts Isabelle up and puts her on his shoulder and starts patting her back. He turns to Isabelle's right ear and says "And you know what ended up happening to your Uncle Tom and Auntie Nadia?" Isabelle obviously doesn't respond as she continues to work herself up to a burp.

Tom smiles and turns to Nadia. "Your auntie slept for nearly a year, under this terrible curse that was caused by her own father. And your uncle would be locked away in jail for nearly a year, thanks to your grandma Irina and your uncle's mother Mary. But one day, your auntie woke up from her curse, and that's when she saved your uncle from a very long stay in prison. And once again, just like they did twice before...they found each other again...and this time, they would live happily..."

Tom's speech is cut off when Isabelle suddenly throws up some of her breakfast on his shoulder.

Tom's face remains frozen in mid-speech while Nadia gasps and holds up her hand to her mouth, then starts laughing softly. As she scrambles to get a paper towel from the kitchen, Tom looks at Isabelle's somewhat irritated face, and blankly says "...ever after. The end."

Nadia runs back into the nursery and wipes off the puke from Tom's shoulder. Meanwhile, Tom takes another paper towel in Nadia's other hand and starts wiping off Isabelle's mouth. As he does, he says "Well, I guess that's one way of telling someone to shut up..." Nadia giggles as she finishes cleaning off Tom's shoulder and says "I think her appetite might have been bigger than her little stomach!"

Tom stands up and starts feeling Isabelle's diaper. Feeling warmth down there, he says "Looks like someone made an overnight deposit." Tom then looks over at Nadia. "I might need your help on this." Nadia quickly asks "You've never changed a diaper before?"

Tom shakes his head and timidly says "No..." Nadia rolls her eyes and says "Set Isabelle in the crib, I'll show you. It's really easy."

Tom does as instructed and asks Nadia "Since when did you become the expert on diaper changing and baby puke?" As she grabs a diaper, Nadia replies "We had some infants at the orphanage. I was asked to help change diapers sometimes, and I was puked on a couple times myself! It happens!"

Tom unfastens Isabelle's diaper and takes it off. He holds his nose and says "Oh damn, that's rank!" He then tosses the diaper into a nearby wastebasket. Meanwhile, Nadia grabs some baby wipes and cleans off Isabelle, then throws the wipes away in the same wastebasket.

Tom then returns to the crib and Nadia tells him "Lift Isabelle up a bit." Tom picks Isabelle up so Nadia can set the opened-up diaper on the crib. Nadia then says "Ok, set her down."

Tom sets down Isabelle. Nadia nods and says "Good. Now, watch me..." Nadia grabs the near-end of the diaper and folds it over and fastens it around her waist...all in a matter of 5 seconds. Nadia then stands up and triumphantly says "That's it!"

Tom raises his eyebrows and plainly says "Wow, that was easy." Nadia smiles and pats Tom on the back. "I told you! And these diapers are much easier than the ones I had to change at the orphanage. These don't need clothespins. I'll have you change her diaper the next time, ok?"

Tom smiles and puts his arm around Nadia's shoulders as he looks down at Isabelle. "That's fine. I must say, Nadia, we do make a pretty good team. And this child business isn't so hard after all. This training session isn't really anything more than using your common sense." Nadia looks up at Tom and says "It's just time-consuming, but it's worth it, isn't it Isabelle?"

Nadia then tickles Isabelle's belly a bit, causing the baby to smile and kick her feet a bit. "Uh oh, she's ticklish!" Tom, taking an opportunity, slides his arm off of Nadia's shoulder and starts dancing his fingers on her ribs. Nadia looks back at Tom with stoic look and says "You're still not even close."

Tom looks disappointed as he says "Damn! I'd get my ex-wife howling if I tickled her ribs!" Nadia confidently smirks and looks back at Isabelle. "Isabelle, I'll tell you where my tickle spot is if you promise to keep it a secret, ok?"

Tom gives Nadia an incredulous look while Isabelle just looks back up at Nadia and continues her random routine of moving her arms and legs around. Nadia then leans in and cups her mouth around Isabelle's ear. Tom leans in himself, but Nadia playfully pushes him away. Nadia then quickly leans back down before Tom can lean back in and whispers "Under my arms."

Tom leans back in and playfully asks Isabelle "What did your auntie say?" Nadia laughs and playfully says back to Isabelle "She's not going to tell! It's a secret amongst us girls!"

Tom shakes his head as he looks at Nadia and says "You're just delaying the inevitable, Nadia. This can all be over with by telling the truth!" Nadia defiantly smirks and says "Well, you're just going to have to keep trying, because I'll never tell!"

Tom then turns and looks back out at the apartment, then back at Nadia. "So, what's for breakfast?" Nadia stands up straight and shrugs. "I noticed Sydney has some mix to make homemade waffles. I thought we'd have that and some bacon."

Tom nods, then sighs as he looks back at Isabelle and says "I wonder how Syd's doing. Hopefully she's ok, wherever she is." Nadia looks down at Isabelle as well and says "I'm sure she's fine. When I talked to her last night, she said she'd probably be back around noon or so today. I wish she'd tell me what she's up to, but she did sound like it was routine, whatever it was."

Tom smiles and says "Ok, I'll get our breakfast going." Tom then starts to turn, but is stopped when Nadia grabs his arm and says "Do you really want to push your cooking luck? You got lucky yesterday morning..."

Tom rolls his eyes and says "Lucky? Oh ye of little faith! Huevos rancheros are much harder to make than homemade waffles and bacon!" Nadia grabs the outside of Tom's arms and says "Look, I'll make us breakfast. You look after Isabelle for a while, ok? You have to finish what you started with her!"

Tom looks down at the floor and, in a mock defeated voice, says "Yes ma'am." Nadia giggles and gives Tom a kiss. When she pulls back, she says "I can't believe you went to therapy over me!"

Tom shrugs and says "It was only one visit, but I still suffered in silence for a while. You're a hard drug to kick." Nadia laughs and starts turning towards the kitchen. As she walks out of the nursery, she says "I guess there's worse things to be addicted to besides me!"

Nadia then walks into the kitchen as Tom takes a deep sigh as he lets Nadia's last sentence swirl around his head a bit. He knows she was being cute with that statement. But now that he thinks about it, he just realized that he hasn't told her about his past heroin addiction...one of the things that helped inspire his dead mother to work out a deal with Irina Derevko to get him thrown in prison for nearly a year.

He then realizes that some things are probably better left unsaid, and that telling Nadia just out of the blue would be pointless. He then turns observes Isabelle in her crib some more. His thoughts about his past are quickly erased when Isabelle looks up at Tom and smiles and laughs a bit. Tom smiles back and says "I love you too, kid."

* * *

><p>Not much later, Nadia puts the final touches on breakfast. She sets some bacon next to the waffles on the plates. She also decided to make some biscuits that she found in Sydney's fridge. She scampers over to the back counter, puts on some oven mitts, and pulls them out of the oven.<p>

She sets the tray of biscuits on the counter and quickly grabs two biscuits and puts them on the plates.

Just as she takes off her mitts, she hears singing coming from the nursery. Tom was surprised to hear her singing yesterday, and now, it's Nadia's turn to be surprised at her significant other's hidden vocal talent.

Nadia walks over to the nursery and sees Tom in the same position she was yesterday when she was singing to Isabelle: rocking in a rocking chair with Isabelle in his arms. And just like yesterday, Tom pays her no mind as he keeps softly singing...

"_When you walk through a storm,  
>Hold your head up high,<br>And don't be afraid of the dark.  
>At the end of a storm,<br>There's a golden sky,  
>And a sweet silver song of a lark.<em>

_Walk on through the wind,_  
><em>Walk on through the rain,<em>  
><em>Though your dreams be tossed and blown...<em>

_Walk On! Walk On! With hope in your heart,_  
><em>And you'll never walk alone...<em>  
><em>You'll never walk alone<em>

_Walk On! Walk On! With hope in your heart,_  
><em>And you'll never walk alone...<em>  
><em>You'll never walk alone."<em>

Nadia starts walking over to Tom when he finishes the song. Tom looks up and sees Nadia walking towards him. He smiles and says "Just following your lead from yesterday. I know 'You'll Never Walk Alone' isn't exactly a lullaby, but it was the best song I could think of for the situation." Nadia stops in front of Tom and folds her arms. With an inquisitive look on her face, she asks "Ok, when did YOU ever sing?"

Tom chuckles a bit as he looks back down at Isabelle. "I never was in any choirs or anything. What you just heard comes from years of drunken karaoke and car singing." Nadia giggles a bit and says "I asked because you're not such a bad singer yourself!"

A flattered Tom smirks as he looks back at Nadia. "Thanks. Anyway, it did the trick. Izzy's out like a light." Nadia looks down at Isabelle and sees she is indeed sleeping.

Nadia then looks back up at Tom's eyes and sees him looking lovingly down at Isabelle. She then starts imagining him holding a child of their own. It becomes apparent to her, through his handling of Isabelle this morning, along with other personality traits of his, that Tom would be a very loving father. After all, he loves Nadia so much, and she knows Tom would love their own child just as much, if not more.

As Nadia is mired in thought, Tom looks up at her and calmly asks "Is breakfast ready?" Nadia composes herself and says "Yeah, it's ready when you are."

Tom nods and looks back down at a sleeping Isabelle and tells her "Well, it's time for us to eat now. Holler if you need anything, ok?" As Tom stands up, Nadia happily says "I'm sure she will!"

Tom then sets Isabelle down in her crib gently and looks back up at Nadia. Sincerely, he says "I have a confession to make. I've fallen in love with another woman." Nadia raises her eyebrows in mock astonishment as she looks down at Isabelle. In a playful voice, she says "You're stole my fiance? How dare you!"

Tom laughs and then gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I love my niece, too, but you're still number 1 in my heart." Nadia looks back up at Tom and, with a touched smile, says "I know. I love you, handsome." Tom smiles back and says "I love you, beautiful. I always have and I always will."

The two then give each other a quick kiss, and then walk out to eat their breakfast.

* * *

><p>It's now 12:21 in the afternoon and Tom is pulling onto the street that leads to Sydney's apartment. We see that he's got two bags of groceries as well as a pink teddy bear on the passenger's seat.<p>

Tom felt bad that he and Nadia ate the last of Sydney's ice cream last night and used up her waffle mix, bacon, and biscuits for breakfast. So, despite Nadia feeling it wasn't necessary, Tom went out to replenish Sydney's pantry.

However, as he pulls over to park on the street outside of Sydney's apartment, he sees Sydney's car already there. He smiles, happy that she's back.

Tom parks the car, grabs his groceries and teddy bear, and steps out and walks up to the door.

He opens the door and sees Sydney and Nadia chatting in the kitchen. He notices that their tone is a little subdued as they turn to him. Tom, still in a good mood, says "Hey Syd! Glad you're back!" Sydney gives Tom a faint smile and says "Hey...you really didn't have to go get groceries..."

Tom looks at her questioningly and says "What kind of houseguests do you think we are?" Sydney shakes her head and says "You babysat my daughter, of course you're entitled to whatever..."

Tom cuts her off intently as he sets the groceries next to Sydney on the counter at the kitchen sink. "Sydney, you did us both a favor last night, letting us spend time with Isabelle. The least we can do is replenish what we used." Sydney gives Tom a small smile and says "Well, I'll tell you what: consider us even for the lilies I picked up for you to give to Nadia at the hospital, ok?"

Tom gives Sydney a hug and says "That's cool." As they're still hugging, Tom tells Sydney "I'm glad you're alright." Sydney, like something is really weighing on her, just replies flatly "Thank you."

Tom then releases the hug, grabs the teddy bear and starts walking through the kitchen towards the nursery. Sydney nervously asks "Where are you going?" Tom, still walking, looks back and says "I just got Isabelle a little friend while she sleeps. I'm going to give it to her."

Nadia then says "Tom, maybe you shouldn't go in there..." Tom looks at her a little funny and says "Why not? If she's sleeping, I'll be quiet."

Before Sydney and Nadia can plead with him any further, Tom turns the corner to go into the nursery...and stops completely in his tracks when he sees something he was not expecting...

Michael Vaughn.

Tom stands there with his mouth agape and drops the teddy bear. Vaughn, meanwhile, is sitting on the rocking chair, holding Isabelle in his arms for the very first time.

He then looks up at Tom and locks eyes with him for the first time since the infamous Sovogda mission. Tom just continues to look at him dumbfounded. Sydney and Nadia, meanwhile, have made their way over next to Tom.

Before they can say anything, Vaughn says "Hello Tom." Tom remains frozen for a bit, then turns over to Sydney and blankly asks "Sydney...what's happening?"

Sydney puts her hand on Tom's shoulder to try to comfort him and says "We found Vaughn in Nepal. He's been alive all along." Tom looks down and shakes his head slowly. "Did you know..."

Sydney shakes her head. "No. Jack knew that Prophet Five wouldn't stop until Vaughn was dead. Jack kept his status a secret from me to protect him." Vaughn, after he sets Isabelle back in her crib, looks back at Tom and picks up the story. "Jack gave me sodium morphate to disguise my death. I was extracted from the morgue and sent to Nepal to live in hiding."

Tom then says "But Michael, your daughter...your fiancee..." Vaughn cuts him off intently. "What happened to me was necessary in order to stay alive. I wanted to see my daughter, and this was the only way I could."

Tom sighs loudly and asks Vaughn "Can we talk in private?" Nadia says "Tom, please don't do anything..." Vaughn holds up his hand and sternly says "It's ok, I think talking would be a good idea. I think we both have some things that we need to clear the air about."

Tom then steps in to the nursery and closes the door, leaving Sydney and Nadia worried about what's to come. They both know that Tom had a lot of bitterness towards Vaughn over what happened in Sovogda, and even though Tom has stated that he's forgiven him, they can't help but be worried. Nadia looks over at Sydney and asks "I hope Tom doesn't do anything..." Sydney then cuts her off. "It's not Tom I'm worried about. Vaughn took Tom's anger at him personally."

Meanwhile, in the nursery, Tom and Vaughn eye each other down a bit for a while.

As Tom is trying to find the right words to say, Vaughn starts off the conversation. "Thanks for staying overnight to babysit Isabelle. Me and Sydney both appreciate that."

Tom nods his head and says "You're welcome. When I was in prison during Sydney's pregnancy, it hurt me that I wasn't there to help her out. And speaking of Sydney, she kept visiting me in prison, brought me home-cooked meals, and made sure I got to see Nadia in the hospital every week. I'm forever indebted to her for that, and babysitting your daughter was the least I could do."

Vaughn takes a deep breath and says "Sydney tells me that you resented me for preventing you from saving Nadia in the subway." Tom slowly nods and says "Yeah, I did." Vaughn quickly says "I didn't do what I did because I had malice for you. You have to understand why kept trying to stop you."

Tom then takes a deep, nervous breath himself. "Michael, you have to understand something about me, too. I don't have very much keeping me on this earth anymore. Most of the family and friends I known have either been killed off or have died some way. But Nadia is the light of my life. She's my one hope at a future for me and building a family of our own. And seeing what happened to her in the subway...I saw my future being taken away from me. Michael, I understand why you prevented me from going back and trying to save her. The odds were long that I would have survived, especially without a gun. But, you have to understand how I felt, and you have to understand that I would have died for Nadia if that's what it took."

Vaughn nods and says "I do understand, and I felt bad for what ended up happening to her. But, you have to understand what I felt, too. I didn't want to see you get mauled in the subway, and later, if you had killed Sloane, we might not have found Elena until it was too late. And as for what happened before Sloane shot Nadia, I have to admit that what Rambaldi said in your prophecy scared me. No matter what happened on the rooftop, I feared that Sydney would be dead either by Nadia's hands or by yours." Tom shakes his head and says "I'd never hurt Sydney..."

Vaughn cuts him off purposefully. "I didn't know that at the time. I didn't know YOU at that time. I know you said that to me, but I couldn't believe you with the state your mind was in." Tom looks a little angry at that first, but then calms down and nods his head. "I don't blame you for that. Were our roles and Nadia and Sydney's roles reversed, I would have done the same thing you did."

Vaughn sighs and says "I know the past year for you has been hard. It's been hard for all four of us. Sydney's pregnancy, Nadia's coma, your imprisonment, and my exile. It was hard for me to be away from Sydney during her pregnancy...but now, everything has turned out ok. We're all here now." Tom gives Vaughn an understanding nod and says "I agree. I'm glad things worked out the way they did. I just wish it didn't have to be so hard to be with the ones we love."

Vaughn chuckles a bit and says "You're preaching to the choir there!" Tom smiles himself and then sincerely says "Michael, when Sydney informed me of your death, I was hurt for both you and her. And I soon realized that I couldn't hate you for what you did. You were just trying to protect me in the subway, you were just trying to protect the mission when you tackled me before I shot Sloane, and you were protecting the mother of your child before I clocked you. You had every right to do what you did. And in every single day that I languished in prison, I regretted that I could never apologize to you."

Vaughn looks down and says "I'll admit I shouldn't have tried to stop you from going to the rooftop. We could have worked it out..." Tom walks up to him and cuts him off. "No, you have nothing to be sorry about. We're both passionate about the women in our lives, and we both would do anything for them. What happened there was an...extreme misunderstanding. That's all. And my rage blinded me to what was really going on. Michael, I don't hate you at all. In fact, I consider you a friend. And I'm sorry for resenting you like I did. Let's bury that shit in the past, and let's look forward to long, happy lives with our soon-to-be wives, ok?"

With a hopeful smirk, Tom then extends his hand for a handshake. Vaughn looks down at the hand and shakes it. He then looks back up at Tom with a smile and says "That sounds good to me." Tom gives Vaughn a pat on the shoulder as he releases the handshake. Then, he says "Oh, I almost forgot..."

Tom walks back to the door, opens it and reaches down and grabs the pink teddy bear for Isabelle. He looks over at Sydney and Nadia, who are looking at him concerned. Tom smiles and gives them a wink, relieving their anxiety somewhat.

Tom then walks back into the nursery and says "I got Izzy a little present...a little company for her sleep." Vaughn cracks a smile as Tom sets the teddy bear next to a sleeping Isabelle. Tom looks down at her and says "Michael, I'm glad to have gotten to know my soon-to-be niece-in-law over the last day. She's a great gal." Michael smiles and says "Yeah, I look forward to getting to know her myself."

Tom then says "Ok, let's go rejoin our ladies, I think they were worried about our little chat." Tom and Vaughn start to walk out of the nursery. As they walk back out to the kitchen, Tom looks over and says "Oh, be careful when you're feeding Izzy in the morning." Vaughn curiously asks "Why's that?"

Meanwhile, Sydney and Nadia both look relieved that they're being cordial with each other. From the breakfast bar, Nadia laughs and says "Isabelle gave Tom a little bit of a surprise this morning." Sydney, now curious, asks "What did she do?"

Tom, playfully irritated, says "I was burping her and she threw up on my shoulder!" Sydney puts her hand to her mouth and starts laughing. "Oh, I forgot to tell you! She tends to do that when you overfeed her." Tom looks down at Nadia jealously and says "Well, she ate the whole bottle every time your sister fed her yesterday and Nadia didn't get any puke baths!"

Before Nadia can make a snarky comeback, Sydney says "I've noticed she does that in the mornings for some reason." Nadia then says "Isabelle slept all through the night and she hadn't ate in a while. Maybe that had something to do with it." Vaughn says "She might have a bit of acid reflux. She wasn't crying after she puked, did she?" Tom shakes his head. "No...but she did have a look on her face like she was a little pissed off."

Vaughn smiles and says "Sounds like our baby is pretty tough then..." Sydney and Nadia laugh, and Sydney says "I guess so!"

Tom puts his arm around Nadia and looks at both Vaughn and Sydney. "I really want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to babysit Izzy." Nadia puts her arm around Tom's hips and says "Yeah, she's really an angel, and wasn't hard to babysit at all. We both enjoyed it." Sydney then looks at Tom funny and says "Izzy?"

Tom looks over at her and replies "Yes..._Syd_! Syd, Sydney. Izzy, Isabelle. Get it?" Sydney nods, apparently getting it. "I see..." Nadia then says "I think Tom should call her by her full name." Vaughn then says "Well, technically, every time we call Sydney "Syd", we're calling her a guy's name. And we can't just call Isabelle 'Is'. I think 'Izzy' works."

Tom points over at Vaughn and looks at Sydney and Nadia. "See? Listen to the father!" Sydney and Nadia look at each other and just roll their eyes. Vaughn and Tom, meanwhile, look at each other with a smirk.

Vaughn then says "Anyway, I'm glad you and Tom were available to help out." Tom quickly replies "In the future, if you two have to go out for a mission, give us a call, we'll take care of Izzy." Sydney quickly says "We'll bring her to your place in the future, you don't have to stay over here." Nadia giggles a bit and says "Actually, it was kind of romantic to sleep over here on the airbed. It was almost like we were camping!"

Nadia then looks up at Tom and asks "Ok, are you ready to make the big announcement?" Tom looks at her a little funny and asks "What, you didn't tell them yet?" Nadia, with a wide smile, replies "I wanted to wait for you to be here!" Now Vaughn and Sydney look intrigued. Sydney asks "Ok, what is it, you two?"

Tom looks at Sydney, then back down at Nadia and asks "Do you want to say it? It was your idea..." Nadia replies "Oh no, I think you should say it..." Vaughn then snaps "Would one of you two just say it already!"

Tom and Nadia both look over at Vaughn. Then, Tom says "We're are getting married four weeks from today." Sydney gasps in surprise and says "Oh my gosh, you finally picked a date! Congratulations!"

Tom rolls his eyes and says "I didn't know that I was under a deadline!" As Sydney walks around the breakfast bar, Vaughn extends his hand to Tom and says "Congratulations, I'm glad it's going to happen for you two."

Tom smiles as he shakes Vaughn's hand. Sydney and Nadia meanwhile exchange a warm embrace. Sydney says "I'm so happy for you two! Where's the wedding at?" Nadia, still in euphoria, says "We're having the wedding in San Felipe!"

Vaughn raises his eyebrows a bit and says "The coastal town in Baja California?" Tom nods as Sydney and Nadia release their hug and says "Yeah, I was going to take Nadia there after the Sovogda mission, but, well, we all know what happened there. This time around, Nadia not only booked us a vacation there, but she suggested that be the place we marry."

Sydney then walks around and gives Tom a warm hug. Vaughn, meanwhile, walks over and gives Nadia a hug himself.

While they're hugging, Sydney tells Tom "Don't bother sending us invitations, we'll be there for sure!" Tom laughs and says "You better be! You're my fiancee's maid of honor!"

The four release their hugs at about the same time. Tom then asks Sydney "I do need your help before the wedding. My sister and nephew back in Missouri are going to want to come, and I don't think they have passports."

Sydney holds up her hand and says "Have your sister give me a call, I'll get their passports rushed through." Tom smiles wide and says "Thank you so much, Syd. I appreciate it."

Nadia then looks over at Sydney with a playful smile and says "Well, me and Tom have our wedding date set...when are you two getting married?" Vaughn looks at her funny, then back over at Tom. "Did she pressure you like this, too?" Tom laughs a bit and says "She asked me if I thought of a wedding date not an hour after I got out of prison!"

Nadia, playfully offended, says "Hey! I'm just excited to see my sister get married! Don't hold it against me!" Sydney giggles and says "Well, we're going to need some time to figure that out ourselves." Sydney then gets a serious look on her face. "We need to have things settle down at APO first, though."

Vaughn nods and says "Yeah, there's a lot going on. Prophet Five is moving towards Rambaldi's..." Tom holds up his hands. "Vaughn, me and Nadia aren't APO personnel anymore. We're not supposed to know what's going on anymore."

Vaughn looks over at Sydney and asks "Syd, it's Tom and Nadia..." Nadia cuts him off and says "No, it's ok. We both want Rambaldi out of our lives and not knowing what's going on will help in our transition to normal lives." Sydney then says "I should be honest, guys...there really is nothing that is preventing me from telling you two what's going in...I just thought, with what you two went through, that it'd be a courtesy to keep you two out of the loop with what's going on."

Tom gently puts his hand on Sydney's shoulder and says "You're right about that, and we appreciate that. You could have just said that before, though." Sydney replies "Well, you asked what was going on, and I didn't want to make it seem I was willingly withholding information from you."

Tom shakes his head and says "Don't worry about that, I understand." Tom turns to Vaughn and says "But Nadia's right. We're both living Rambaldi-free lives from now on." Nadia then turns to Tom and says "Now that you mention it, I guess I should be honest with you, Tom."

Tom looks back over at her a little funny. "What is it?" Nadia looks down and says "Me and Tom are considering making San Felipe our home, and there's a big reason I'm wanting that to happen." Nadia then looks back up at Tom. "I want us to consider San Felipe as a permanent place to live because it would keep us anonymous from anyone that would be interested in us. San Felipe's not a big town and it's in a part of the world that some might overlook." Tom gives Nadia an understanding nod as Sydney curiously asks "How far is San Felipe from here?"

Tom replies "About four hours, give or take. I actually brought up the idea of San Felipe as a permanent home last year because it wouldn't be that far away from you guys." Vaughn then asks "Actually, I just realized something. Tom, you just pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault, won't that prevent you from crossing the border?"

Tom shakes his head. "No. My beatdown of Sark took place in a place the CIA doesn't want anyone to know about, so it's not going on my public record. If I wanted to work for the CIA again, it would come up, though."

Sydney then walks over to Vaughn, then turns to Tom and Nadia and says "Well, I again want to thank you two so much for helping out with Isabelle. You two were such a big help." Nadia smiles and says "No problem. And I'm so happy that Isabelle has her father back." Vaughn grins and says "I'm glad she does, too." Tom, kind of sensing it's time to leave, says "You two probably have some catching up to do. We'll leave you be."

Tom and Nadia then walk over and exchange hugs and goodbyes with Sydney and Vaughn, then grab their things and head back home.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Apartment<strong>_

Later that afternoon, we catch Tom and Nadia relaxing on their couch, watching more World Cup games on TV and enjoying some ice cream in their bowls. Tom takes a bite of his ice cream and asks Nadia "How's your ice cream?" Nadia smiles wide and says "Oh, it's so good! I'm glad we finally were able to stop by that place that was on the way to work."

Tom smiles and says "Yeah, but I was happy to wait a day for that. After babysitting for the last 24 hours, I'm kind of going through Isabelle withdrawals now." Nadia pats Tom on the knee and says "I am, too. I love my little niece!"

Tom looks over at Nadia and says "I know you do, and I do too. And thanks for helping me learn the child-caring ropes, you were a big help." Nadia shrugs and says "You seemed to get it alright." Tom smiles and says "I just had to follow the fine example you set."

Nadia then looks over at Tom's cookie dough ice cream and asks "How is your ice cream?" Tom looks at her and says "Pretty good, want a bite?" Nadia grins and says "Sure!"

Tom scoops up some ice cream on his spoon and reaches over and lets Nadia have a bite off his spoon. She smiles wide and says "Wow, that is pretty good!" Tom then looks down at Nadia's rocky road ice cream intrigued.

Nadia looks up at Tom and asks "Want a bite?" Tom smirks and says "Well yeah!" Nadia giggles as she scoops up some ice cream on her spoon and extends her right arm to give Tom a bite.

Meanwhile, Tom sees that the right underarm of Nadia is now wide open. He was running out of ideas of where Nadia could be ticklish and figured that was his last chance.

Tom goes to lean in to take a bite, then quickly moves up his left arm and starts tickling Nadia's right armpit. She screams out loud and says "NOOO!"

It's too late, though. Nadia leans back and lies down to avoid Tom's hands. She does...just long enough for them both to set their ice cream on the ground and for Tom to undauntedly lean over Nadia to tickle her some more.

Nadia continues to laugh and scream and squirm as she's getting tickled. Tom has a triumphant look on his face as he enjoys seeing Nadia getting tickled. Finally, Nadia looks at Tom and, in between laughs, yells "STOP! PLEASE!"

Tom, now laughing at Nadia's predicament, sits back down in his seat and grabs his ice cream again. Nadia rises up herself and catches her breath. She then gives Tom a bit of a shove on his left arm and says "Did you hear me tell Isabelle that my underarms were my weak spot?" Tom gives Nadia a playful smirk and says "You see...me and Isabelle have a special relationship. Your secrets aren't safe with her."

Nadia smirks back and says "So my husband-to-be is the Baby Whisperer. Yeah, ok!" Tom laughs and says "Ok, ya got me. I can't talk to babies. But, your armpits were about the only thing left that I could tickle! I told you I'd get you some time!"

Nadia picks up her ice cream and shakes her head, still with a wide smile on her face. "I'm going to have to get you back for that, you know!" Tom then looks down at his feet and makes sure the bottom of his feet are face-down to the floor. "My little piggies are staying right here on this very floor and they aren't moving for nothing!"

Nadia smiles as she starts to go back to her ice cream. But, she then stops as she starts thinking back to their time with Isabelle. Nadia looks back up at Tom, who has gone happily gone back to enjoying his ice cream and the soccer game.

Nadia recalls how willing Tom was to help babysit Isabelle yesterday and his willingness to take care of her early this morning. She knows Tom loves Isabelle and that he was very good with her. He also knows that Tom is just a caring guy in general, albeit a bit on the emotional side. She thinks that he'd be a tremendous father.

Then, she looks away and thinks about her feelings as she held Isabelle. Holding Isabelle and taking care of her made her feel rather empowered, and she liked the feeling of taking care of someone that depended on her. Her life experiences along with the fact that she proved to herself that she can take care of someone else has her feeling good about her ability to be a mother.

Nadia looks back over at Tom, who's leaning forward and enjoying the soccer game while eating his ice cream. She reaches over and gently grabs Tom's arm. Tom looks over at her and notices that Nadia has a rather serious look on her face. He calmly asks "You alright, babe?"

Nadia leans forward, sets her ice cream on the coffee table, and grabs the TV remote and turns off the TV. Tom now realizes that she must want to talk about something very serious.

Nadia then leans back and starts off. "Tom, there's something I think we need to talk about." Tom, now a little concerned, sets his ice cream down and asks "What is it? Is everything alright?"

Nadia nods and says "Yeah, everything's great. But, I've been thinking a lot since yesterday morning and..." Nadia then pauses and thinks about what she's going to say. Tom scoots over and grabs her right hand gently and asks "It's ok, I'm here."

Nadia then turns and looks deep into Tom's eyes and says "I want to have a baby."

Tom leans away from Nadia a little bit, caught a bit off-guard by that request. He wasn't expecting her to make the decision on children this fast. He looks away for a second, recalling how Nadia interacted with Isabelle yesterday and noting how ensconced she was staring into Isabelle's eyes.

Tom then turns back to Nadia and asks "Nadia, having a child is more than just changing diapers and feeding them. Bringing a child in our lives would be life-changing for the both of us. And I know how unsure you were about it yesterday...are you sure you want one now?"

Nadia replies "Tom, I realized something about myself when I took care of Isabelle. I know I've had a rough life up until this point, and I've always worried about taking care of myself. But, as I was taking care of Isabelle...I realized that she looked up to me to take care of her. _I _was responsible for making sure she was fed, clothed, and loved. And I've never had to do anything like that for anyone in my life. I loved that feeling of responsibility."

Tom puts his arm around Nadia and holds her close to comfort her. He tells her "I know you did. I've never seen you so happy before. It was heartwarming to see you like that." Nadia sniffles a bit and then leans away so she can look back at Tom. "Tom, I've worn many labels in my life. Orphan, thief, criminal, agent, 'The Passenger', sister, daughter, girlfriend...but now, there's nothing I want more in my life than to have someone call me 'mommy'."

Nadia takes a deep breath to prevent any tears from being shed, then says "And up until now, I never thought I was even capable of taking care of a child because of my career or my lot in life. But now, I have you in my life, Tom. You've given me the gift of your undying love, and you've made me more self-confident and self-assured than I ever have been in my life. I would love to bring a child to this world and have you be the father. You would be such a good dad."

Tom continues to look down as Nadia leans the right side of her head into his chest, still trying to control her emotions and hoping she hears what she wants to hear out of Tom. Now, it's Tom's turn to assess whether he's really ready for a child.

Like Nadia, Tom also felt empowered taking care of Isabelle, and he even surprised himself with his ability to take care of her. And after seeing Nadia with Isabelle, he's convinced that Nadia would also make a great mother.

Tom then tells Nadia "Hey, look at me." Nadia does and looks back at Tom's eyes as she wipes her own off. Tom puts his hands on her shoulders and says "Nadia, you know it's been my longtime dream to be at this very point in my life...my career behind me, and my future ahead of me. And I always dreamed of a child being in that future. When I brought up the idea of a child yesterday, I did it because I knew, deep in my heart, that I wanted you to be the mother of my children. And you put an exclamation point on that when I saw you with Isabelle. I knew exactly what was going through your mind. And at that point, I realized you'd be the perfect mother. I know you'll be so good to our child. But, I also knew that you'd be a great mother when _you_ were ready. Nadia, I would never force childbirth on the woman I love...that's why I want you to be sure about this."

Nadia wraps her arms around Tom's neck and, with a smile, says "Tom, I've never been more sure of anything in my life! And I'm not worried about the pregnancy because I know you'll be there to help me every step of the way. I know that because I know I can always count on you! You've been so good to me since we met and I can't think of a better father to my child, let alone a better companion during my pregnancy."

Tom now starts getting a little emotional and a couple tears start to form on his face. "I'm honored that you think that much of me." Nadia wipes some of the tears off his face and says "Hey, that's my line!"

Tom chuckles a bit and composes himself quickly. He then says "I know...and it applies for me, too." Nadia then gives him a peck on the cheek and says "Tom, I want this...I REALLY want this! And I know you do, too."

Tom then reaches over and grabs the sides of Nadia's face gently. With a wide smile, he gently says "If you want to have a baby...then lets have a baby!" Nadia lets out a sudden, relieved laugh and then puts her hands behind Tom's head and starts making out with him.

After about a minute of very passionate kissing, Nadia releases the kiss and seductively says "Let's do this." Tom, a little surprised, says "You want us to try to conceive now? Don't you want to wait until after..."

Tom's is interrupted by Nadia giving him a kiss. She pulls back and, with a wide smile, warmly says "It's ok, I'll still fit into my wedding dress if I'm one month pregnant!." Tom shrugs, then stands up and says "Ok, if you insist..."

Nadia stands up and they resume making out. However, they're standing in the same spot, and that has Nadia curious. She stops kissing and asks "Why aren't you carrying me to the bedroom?" Tom playfully replies "Because, your carrying privileges expired at midnight! Remember? I was going to treat you like a queen until midnight last night and carry you around if you asked. But, that offer expired!"

Nadia sighs and looks down at the ground. Suddenly, Tom squats down and wraps his hands around the back of her thighs and lifts her up. Nadia quickly wraps her arms around Tom's neck and her legs around Tom's waist as she laughs. She then devilishly says "I knew you couldn't resist!" As Tom holds her up by her butt, he smiles wide and says "Nadia, I carried you to bed like this the very first time we made love in this apartment. I say let's make this time memorable as well!"

Nadia giggles and seductively says "I'll make it memorable for other reasons..." She then leans in and kisses Tom on the neck. Tom smirks and says "Boy, I hope so!"

Nadia laughs as Tom starts carrying her to the bedroom and...well, like all times this has happened before, we can imagine what happens from here.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	33. Ch 32: Diary Of A Mother

**DIARY OF A MOTHER**

* * *

><p><em>Disclaimer: The following will address an Alias storyline that had some MAJOR timeline inaccuracies. Please note that what you're about to read is just my take on that particular storyline and some dates might seem off. Remember, the dates in the storyline were off to begin with. Oh, and remember, Nadia told Tom a couple chapters ago that she's 27. Ok, I'll shut up now so you can read.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Apartment<strong>_

It's been three weeks since we last left Tom and Nadia...three of the best weeks of their lives.

The initial giddiness over seeing each other again after their reunion still doesn't seem to have worn off very much, even though Nadia hasn't exactly been herself of late. More on that in a bit.

And now, it's the eve of their trip to San Felipe...a trip that is almost a year in the making, and a trip that will most certainly change their lives by the time they come back.

They decided to get married at the Mission San Felipe...a small, but nice non-denominational church that Nadia felt was just perfect. Tom just agreed to go with whatever Nadia chose.

They also were busy getting out invitations to anyone who MIGHT want to go to the wedding. They were happy to receive RSVPs from just about everyone:

Michael Vaughn and Sydney Bristow

Jack Bristow

Marshall Flinkmann

Mike Walcott

David and Lisa Marston

Karen Falk

Karen will be coming alone. Her son has summer camp that weekend that he can't get out of. David and Lisa Marston will also be coming alone, worried over their kids ability to sit still during the wedding because they're still very young. Tom's attorney and former Anti-Cartel director Eduardo Munoz said he couldn't make it since he'd be on vacation himself, but promised to send a floral arrangement. Marcus Dixon also said he'd be busy, but would also send something. And of course, Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko were not invited.

Sydney was able to secure a passport for Karen, much to Tom's relief. However, Karen was a little leery about traveling to Mexico and threatened not to come at first. Tom convinced her that she'd be safe and arranged for her to fly down from St. Louis to San Diego, and then catch a charter flight to the San Felipe airport instead of having to drive through Mexico...something she worried about.

We catch up to Tom and Nadia packing their things for the trip. Both of them look very excited that this day is finally coming. They're also happy that most of their invitations returned with RSVP's saying "yes". They were worried of APO backlash over what went down to get Tom out of prison and just having a lonely ceremony in general.

Meanwhile, Nadia's not been feeling all that great this past week. She's been a little fatigued and has been taking naps during the day, something she really didn't do before.

She also caused Tom a scare a couple days ago when she had to throw up after dinner. Of course, Tom thought it was because he undercooked the chicken breasts they had. Turns out Nadia was actually feeling nauseous all day, which made him feel somewhat better.

Still, Tom has noticed that Nadia has still been a little draggy and nauseous the past couple days. Her spirits are still up, but the energy level just isn't been there.

As they happily pack their bags, Tom looks over at Nadia and asks "How are you feeling?" Nadia smiles wide and says "I'm so excited that this is happening! I can't wait to be walking on the beach this time tomorrow!"

Tom smirks and shakes his head, then says "No, I wasn't talking about that. I was just wondering if my Sleeping Beauty was going to be alright for the trip." Nadia dismissively shrugs and says "Yeah, of course. You're driving most of the way, right?"

Tom nods and says "Well yeah, especially after we get to Mexico." Nadia then says "I printed out a map that showed how to get to San Felipe from here, but I lost the sheet..."

Tom cuts her off and says "I saw the map on the counter yesterday and threw it out. We're not going through Mexicali." Nadia looks at him curiously. "Why not? That's the best way to San Felipe."

Tom looks at her as he stuffs a luggage bag and smiles wide. "I have to make a withdraw in Tijuana." Nadia quickly asks "The safehouse?"

Tom nods slowly. "Yep! I haven't checked on it for a couple years, so I've gotta make sure my nest egg is still there. Plus, we'll need some money for trip expenses. We'll live it up a little while we're down there!" Nadia smiles wide at that and says "Sounds good to me! And I'm sure your safehouse is just fine. After all, Eduardo kept paying for it while you were away..."

Tom chuckles and says "Well, it is Mexico. Some people there are more than happy to illegally take your money. But I'm not worried, the guy that runs the storage bins there is a guy I trust. Believe me, your boyfriend wouldn't be dumb enough to hide his money and guns in any old place!" Nadia smiles and says "Goodness, I hope not!"

Tom then says "You'll like the way we go. Going along the coast through Ensenada is much more scenic, and then we'll just cut over..."

Tom is cut off by the front door knocking.

Tom and Nadia both look out the bedroom, then each other. Tom asks "Sydney wasn't coming over, was she?" Nadia shakes her head. "No, she didn't say she was..."

Tom walks out of the bedroom and goes to the door and looks out at the peephole. And then, Tom's cheery look quickly gets erased and a look of anger forms on his face.

Tom then storms back into the bedroom and opens up the top drawer of the dresser. He digs around until he pulls out his Desert Eagle .50. Nadia, now VERY concerned, asks "Who is it?" Tom looks at Nadia and says "Your father's here."

Nadia yells out "WHAT?" Tom ignores her and marches back to the front door, gun in hand. He cracks the door open and sees Arvin Sloane standing on their doormat with a plain look on his face.

Looking through the cracked door, Tom angrily says "You've got some balls coming here." Sloane, unflinched by Tom, says "I have nothing to say to you. I came here to talk to my daughter."

Nadia runs up to Tom and, hearing Sloane's words, says "Tom, it's ok." Tom looks back at Nadia and says "There's no way in freaking hell he steps foot in our apartment." Sloane then says "I can handle my business from here."

Tom opens the door a little wider and starts eying Sloane down. Sloane is wearing business casual and has a solid, white piece of luggage next to his right foot. Tom keeps eying him down, looking for signs of weapons.

Meanwhile, Sloane has noticed Tom's gun and says "I'm unarmed, Tom. I just came here to have a conversation with my daughter before you two left for your trip. I got her note." Tom then looks back at Nadia concerned again. Nadia puts her hand on Tom's shoulder and says "It's ok, I can handle this."

Tom looks back at Sloane menacingly, then back at Nadia. "Fine. I'll be packing." Nadia nods, but doesn't say anything as she fully opens the door. Tom then walks away from the door and into the bedroom.

Nadia looks back at her father and irritatedly asks "What are you doing here?" Sloane cracks the smallest of smiles and says "I wanted to see you before you went to San Felipe. You never call me, and you changed your cell number."

Nadia folds her arms and, still irritated, says "You know why I haven't tried to contact you." Sloane looks down and takes a deep sigh. Then he looks back up at his daughter and says "Nadia, I've missed you these past few weeks. And I wanted to come here and tell you how happy I am that you're getting married."

Nadia digests that for a bit, then blankly asks says "Is that all?" Sloane quickly replies "I just wanted to see if there was something I could do to gain your acceptance again. I'd like to have a cup of coffee with you and talk..."

Nadia scowls a bit and says "You should have thought of my acceptance of you before you went and did everything you did to me and the father of my future children!" Sloane, now a little befuddled, asks "Father of your...are you pregnant?"

Nadia blankly replies "If I was, I wouldn't tell you." Sloane sighs and remorsefully says "Nadia, please don't do this to me..."

Nadia gets in Sloane's face. "When I told you in the hospital that I never wanted to see you again...I meant it. I don't want you anywhere near my life or Tom's life or our children when we do have them. Who do you think you are, coming here and begging me to accept your 'love' again? Do you think I'm that dense?" Sloane shakes his head and says "Not at all. In fact, I know you're intelligent. That's why I hope you'll listen to what I'm about to say with an open mind."

Nadia steps back and folds her arms again. "I'm listening." Sloane says "I know you don't believe me when I say I didn't try to have Tom killed. I still maintain my innocence there. However...in the interest of full disclosure, when Tom informed me that his mother oversaw my conversation with Jorge, I questioned whether she had another agenda in mind."

Tom, overhearing that last part, now storms from the bedroom and angrily yells "Are you calling my mother a liar?" Nadia walks over and holds Tom back from getting in Sloane's face. Meanwhile, Sloane bends down and grabs his luggage. "I haven't had much to do these past few weeks, so I did some research into Mary Falk. I was hoping to find something that would explain her motivation to lie, so I tapped my sources for any information I could get on her."

Tom raises his eyebrows and asks "She was a bank teller before she started having kids, then became a housewife, working part time jobs as she needed while my dad was in Vietnam. You probably didn't find much!" Sloane shakes his head. "I beg to differ." He then looks over at Nadia. "I also brought you some clothes that I had in my possession during your coma. I'm doing that because they're yours, and I have no business keeping them from you. But, there's also something in there that Tom should read."

Nadia grabs the luggage and, trying to get him of of their porch, asks "Anything else?" Sloane quickly replies and says "No. But Tom, I just thought you should know the truth about your mother. She's not the innocent small-town housewife you thought she was." Tom now looks at him disturbed and asks "Why are you doing this?"

Sloane replies "Because I had to figure out why your mother would lie to you about me. And after reading the documents I'm about to I give you, I was hoping you'd give me some insight into your mother's mind. Maybe...have a chat with her." Tom snickers and rolls his eyes. "Wow, you're really not good at this parenting thing, aren't you?"

Sloane looks at him blankly as Tom asks "Are you really questioning the agenda of a mother that wants the best for her child? Wow...and I thought you sucked as a father before!" Nadia looks down and hurtfully says "Tom..."

Tom looks down at Nadia and says "You're right. I'm sorry that your father has no idea how to be a parent." Nadia quickly flashes him an agitated look as Sloane says "I'll leave you two alone. I hope your wedding is everything you dreamed it would be, Nadia. I wouldn't hope for anything less." Nadia just gives him an annoyed look, then turns and goes back into the apartment with the luggage and without saying anything to her father. As Sloane walks back down the steps, Tom gives him a bit of a seething glare before returning to the apartment.

Tom slams the door and makes sure to lock the deadbolt and the door itself. Nadia, meanwhile, sets the luggage on the couch and opens it. She immediately sees a file folder on top of her clothes.

Tom walks over and quickly grabs the folder and opens it. Immediately, he finds a profile page on a "Mary Landry Falk", along with a picture. He looks over her vitals and her other statistics. They all look like how they should be...until he comes upon her date of death:

_Deceased: 14 April, 1985_

Tom shakes his head quickly. "That can't be...my mother was killed in a car wreck in August of 1972...six months after I was born..." Tom then takes a seat on the couch and Nadia joins him.

Then, with Nadia looking on, Tom looks at the next sheet of paper, which looks like a photocopy of a diary. Tom recognizes the handwriting from childhood notes that Mary had. Then, he reads the page...

* * *

><p><em>27 August, 1972<em>

_The hardest day of my life is now complete...and my new life has begun._

_To the world, I am now a deceased mother of three from a small town. The CIA did a really good job with the accident scene. I was happy to see old Fred Turnbough survived the accident, although I can only imagine what trouble he's going to be in now in Bunker for killing a mother of 3 because he was drunk driving. I wonder who they used as my burned-up double at the scene. Hopefully, that person was already dead..._

_I already miss my baby Tom. He's only 6 months old, and I know when he finds out I was killed in a tragic accident that he will be so sad. I just hope he understands one day that I'm doing this because I love him and I hope he fulfills the promises that await him in the future._

_I am almost certain that Tom is The Caretaker. His hair and eyes are light, just like in the sketch on the Rambaldi document._

_It's been 20 years since I found his document in my parents' belongings, rolled up in a box. 10 years ago, a man named William Vaughn came by, having traced my family lineage to here. He asked about the document and I showed it to him. He seemed like a nice man and seemed to know what he's talking about. I just had no idea what us two would start that day._

_After Karen and Eddie were born, I was starting to doubt whether The Caretaker would indeed come from my womb. Neither one of them matched the sketch at all. But now, I'm certain that Tom is the one. Time will tell if he is indeed is or not, but I do have reasons to believe, thanks to William. _

_And now that Tom is born and me and William are both free of Prophet Five, we can start this next step._

_I look forward to seeing my son grow up. I just wish I could be closer to him. But I fear what I am venturing out to do would come back to hurt my boy, and it's imperative that his identity be kept a secret and that he be kept safe from other, more zealous Rambaldi followers that would not have his best interests in heart._

_Thankfully, my partner understands what I'm doing. I just hope I'm doing the right thing..._

_-M.L._

* * *

><p>Tom looks up and just shakes his head in dismay. Nadia starts rubbing Tom's back to try to comfort him. "She was an agent...I'm so sorry..." Tom looks over at Nadia and says "Your father is a real piece of shit. I just want to state that for the record. I'd be much better off if this stayed buried and I just assumed my mom's Rambaldi dealings started <em>after<em> she died."

Nadia leans in and intently says "Tom, you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Remember, we put all of that behind us..." Tom shakes his head. "Oh no...this can of worms has been opened. Too late to go back now!"

Nadia sighs as she looks at her wristwatch, then back at Tom. "I'm going to get us some snacks for the trip tomorrow. Is there anything in particular you want?" Tom sarcastically snickers a bit and says "Well, I'm a little preoccupied at the moment. You know what me and you like. I trust you."

Nadia gives Tom a comforting smile and gives him a peck on the lips. When she pulls back, she calmly says "I love you." Tom cracks a small smile and replies "I love you, too."

Nadia then gets up and walks out the front door, worried over Tom might read. Tom then takes a deep breath as he flips the page over and reads another copied page from his mother's diary.

* * *

><p><em>07 February, 1975<em>

_We finally have decoded The Caretaker document, but all it raised was more questions._

_Who is The Passenger? Where is The Connection? What is this about a 'metallic skeleton'? And what is the ultimate prophecy? Have we been chasing the wrong endgame?_

_William knows that there is a 'Chosen One', and knows that person probably has yet to be born. The same thing can probably be said about The Passenger. The news about The Passenger actually makes me giddy! My son is about to turn three years old and already, he has a soulmate! I just hope I can find her..._

_Meanwhile, William is searching hard for anything related to The Connection. There is so much about Rambaldi's prophecy that has yet to be revealed, and it's almost like his manuscripts and artifacts just appear at random over time. I guess his prophecy requires a lot of patience._

_From what I can see from afar, my son appears to be very healthy. Therefore, I am uncertain what Rambaldi means by this metallic skeleton. William seems unsure about this as well._

_Me and William both agree that Tom is still too young to be subjected to the treatment that Rambaldi described to reveal the ultimate prophecy. However, this has me excited over the potential that my son could have. After all, that's why I am doing this: to ensure he accomplishes his goal safely._

_I am thankful that I have William Vaughn to work alongside of. His expertise has been very helpful and I can't thank him enough for letting me live under his roof so I can be protected as well. I don't like that I have to be a maid for him, but he says it's just a cover and I shouldn't take it literally. I trust him on that!_

_All I can do now is just watch my baby boy from afar and hope for the future._

_-M.L._

* * *

><p>Tom now looks very upset. To no one, he mumbles "I can't believe my mother faked her death to be a damn maid."<p>

He then decides he needs answers and quickly gets up to his feet and walks over to the kitchen phone. He dials Sydney's number and waits to see if she'll pick up. Thankfully for him, Michael Vaughn picks up instead and asks "Hello?"

Tom says "Michael, it's Tom. Are you alone?" Vaughn, now a little confused, says "Yeah, Sydney stayed at work late. What's up?"

Tom takes a deep breath and says "I know you don't remember much about your father or your early childhood. I was curious if you remembered having a maid around the house growing up." Vaughn, now REALLY confused, says "Why would we have a maid? We didn't have a big house..."

Tom says "I know, I know, just think really hard. She would have been blonde, about Nadia's height, late 30's or early 40's..." Vaughn then asks the obvious question, "Why are you asking me this?"

Tom thinks how he wants to word this. Then, he decides to just say it and replies "I came across a diary of my mother's. She faked her death in 1972 and worked with your father on my Rambaldi document. In her diary, she says her cover with the rest of his family, including you, was that she was the house maid." Vaughn's jaw drops a bit and he says "Wow...I...don't know what to say to that...hang on, let me think about this..."

Tom patiently awaits his response. Finally, after a few seconds, Vaughn says "I do remember in my teen years that my mother would always wish she still had 'that maid' around the house. I always thought she was joking, but I guess she wasn't. Besides that...I'm afraid I don't have any recollection of her. Sorry."

Tom nods a little dismayed and says "It's ok. I appreciate you trying." Vaughn then says "Look, I'll look through some of my old photos of my father and see if I has any pictures with her in them. If I come across anything that might be her, I'll let you know. Also..."

Vaughn then pauses, a little afraid to ask what he's about to ask. Tom notices and says "Michael? You there?" Vaughn says "Yeah...I know these are your mother's personal notes, but I was wanting to see if I could read them. I'd like to know what my father was up to."

Tom understandingly nods and says "Of course. I'll bring them by tomorrow before me and Nadia head to Mexico." Vaughn says "Great, I appreciate it. I'll see if I can find any pictures of your mother in my photos tonight."

Tom says "That would be great. Thanks a lot, Michael. Take care." Vaughn says "You too. Be safe on your trip tomorrow."

Tom then clicks off the phone. He lets out a disappointed sigh after not getting any answers from Vaughn. Then, he flips the page over to another page in his mother's diary.

* * *

><p><em>22 October, 1976<em>

_Thomas Loren Falk is The Caretaker...and now, I'm afraid for him._

_My four and a half year old completed the steps that Rambaldi required in order to access the ultimate prophecy. I watched on from a closed circuit camera as William Vaughn administered the treatment so he wouldn't see me. He took great care to make sure my baby boy was ok._

_I can't help but keep remembering what my son did after he was done. Tommy kept asking where 'that nice old man' went. I have no idea what he was talking about and neither did William. I don't think my son has imaginary friends..._

_It was quite a surprise to my father when I showed up at the grocery store to ask for Tommy. But, when I told him about the Rambaldi document, he seemed to understand. He actually had wondered what happened to it. He told me that it was passed down through the generations, but he never knew what it was. _

_I was glad to see him again and I asked him to keep my presence a secret. I think he will...he seems to understand what I'm doing, even if he wishes I didn't have to give everyone the impression that I'm dead. Believe me, I wish things could be normal, too. Maybe my husband wouldn't have become an alcoholic after I died...oh well, I don't want to talk about that now._

_But getting back to the ultimate prophecy...its contents scared me. I find it hard to imagine that my son would make that choice when he was presented with it. However, from what I'm reading here, he might not have a choice if things work out the way it says they will._

_My father tells me Tommy is generally a good boy, but he can be both emotional and aggressive. I wonder if Rambaldi knew that before he wrote this document._

_I have to talk things over with William. I don't want this for my son._

_-M.L._

* * *

><p>Tom leans back on the couch and thinks long and hard about what he just read. He tries to remember back that far for any treatments or a 'nice old man' around that time period of his life.<p>

However, he's drawing a blank. The only memory he has before he started kindergarten was being some random time when he chased the cat around the house.

And then, Tom shakes his head and mumbles "So, my grandfather knew about my prophecy, and he kept that secret all the way to his death. Unbelievable."

Then, his thoughts go back to the ultimate prophecy, and how it scared his mother. He can only imagine what Rambaldi had planned for him.

Tom then leans back forward and says "Well, like Bob Seger once said...time to turn the page." And he does just that.

* * *

><p><em>19 June 1978<em>

_I put my son's life at risk today for the first time since I left him._

_My work with William Vaughn took me to a remote bunker in Poland today, where he had received details on where 'The Connection' is._

_We both agree that it was important to gain possession of this artifact and destroy it...for the sake of both my son and whoever 'The Passenger' is...if she even exists yet. We both also agree she must be protected, too._

_Unfortunately, a KGB agent named Elena Derevko beat us to The Connection by a whole minute. She managed to escape with it. However, it's very possible that she doesn't know what it does since me and William are still in possession of The Caretaker document._

_William has done a good job at keeping myself and my son anonymous, and Elena probably did not understand my significance when she spotted me at the bunker. I fired a shot at her, but she got away. William arrived after she had escaped, and neither one of them saw each other._

_But now that Elena has seen me, I feel that I'll need William's protection even more now. Tommy will also need to be protected, too._

_I made a mistake the other day. I've been trying to observe my son throughout his life, and up until this point, he hasn't seen me. But, after a tee-ball game, he saw me, and I think he recognized me. I quickly walked away and, the next time I turned back, he was being consoled by my mother._

_I wanted nothing more than to walk over him and tell him I'm here and it's ok, but I can't go back now. Too much has been set in motion, and now, it's imperative that I stay away from him and draw attention away from him. William has said he'd look out for him from now on._

_But, I'm really starting to regret doing all of this. What have I done?_

_-M.L._

* * *

><p>Back in the apartment, Tom is now wiping some tears that have formed in his eyes. With his voice cracking from the emotions, he says "Oh my God, I remember that..."<p>

_Flashback: A 6-year old Tom Falk runs up the stairs to the concession stands while his grandmother tries to keep up behind him. He's excited that his team won the ballgame and he had a big hit._

_Tom gets in line behind some of his teammates and his grandmother finally catches up with him. Breathing heavily, she says "Tom, you can't leave your grandma like that!" Tom looks up at her and says "I'm sorry, grandma...I want a hot dog!"_

_His grandmother says "Ok...ok...but we have to wait for the others in line!" Tom impatiently groans and starts looking around at the surrounding area._

_There's a picnic area off to the left under a canopy. There's a large tee-ball tournament today and there's a pretty good crowd on hand._

_And then, as Tom scans the picnic area, he finds a woman looking back at him that looks really familiar._

_After a few seconds, he puts the pieces together. Tom has just spotted his mother._

_Immediately, he runs from the concession line and excitedly says "MOMMY!" His grandmother, who was busy grabbing money from her wallet, looks over and sees Tom running over toward the picnic area._

_The woman, meanwhile, quickly stands up and walks away quickly towards the parking lot. Tom, seeing her walking away, says "Mommy! Come back!"_

_The woman continues to walk into the parking lot, and eventually disappears behind some school buses. Tom's running, meanwhile, is stopped by his grandmother grabbing him._

_Immediately, the young Tom starts to cry and yells towards the parking lot "MOMMY! MOOOOMMY!" His grandmother tries to console him and says "That wasn't her, Tommy. Your mommy is in a better place."_

_Tom isn't convinced, but turns to his grandmother and starts crying in her shoulder. "What did I do wrong? Why did mommy go away?"_

_His grandmother says nothing as he continues to sob on her shoulder._

Back in the apartment, Tom is trying to control his emotions, but is finding it hard. He mumbles "I can't believe that was really her..."

After a little bit, he wipes some tears from his eyes and takes a deep breath to compose himself.

Then, he gets up and walks to the bedroom to go back to packing clothes. He can't bear to read anymore at the moment.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, he's finished his packing and walks back out to the living room. He slowly walks back over to the couch and sits down in front of the files that lie on the coffee table.<p>

He takes a deep breath and flips over to the next entry.

* * *

><p><em>16 September, 1979<em>

_The Passenger has been found and now we're on the run._

_We went to the Soviet Union to investigate a lead he had on The Passenger, who apparently was just born not a week ago, but is now in Soviet custody._

_William snuck into the prison she was being held and saw something that deeply disturbed him._

_They had the newborn child, who is named Nadia, going through treatment to reveal this equation to the Soviets. We knew that Tom needed to be older to withstand his treatment, but this is much too early for Nadia._

_William decided he had to do something. He went into the room she was being held in to try to save her, but was quickly caught and fled before he could be shot or captured._

_Later in the day, he encountered a woman named Irina Derevko, who questioned his interest in her daughter. She immediately assumed we were either Prophet Five or Covenant and shot him. She then ran off into the woods and disappeared._

_William was injured pretty badly, and he radioed back to me that he was hurt. I quickly arrived with our first aid kit and got the bullet out of his left chest. Irina's shot didn't hit any organs, but William was bleeding really bad and needed attention._

_We weren't authorized to be in the Soviet Union, and instead of taking William to the hospital, he felt it would be better at this point to have us go rogue and have the CIA presume we're dead. We went to an informant friend of his and he was able to heal up there._

_The reason we're going rogue is because the CIA doesn't agree with our desire to protect my son and this little girl. But me and William both know that there is nothing but pain in their future if they're allowed to carry out their roles in this prophecy. We have to protect them._

_We're now alone and anonymous to the world. There's no other organization seeking Rambaldi's prophecy that would understand our wishes._

_I realize that I have made a major mistake abandoning my family, but I now realize that I have a new role to play. William also realizes that things have gone beyond the point of no return, and he's hurt that he has to leave his family behind as well._

_But, we both know that, as long as a heart beats in our chests, we will do everything to make sure Tommy and Nadia don't have to endure Rambaldi's prophecy. That's the best gift we can give them now._

_Also, William Vaughn and Mary Landry Falk officially died today. Phil Conners and Nancy Taylor have taken their place. My new name is going to take some getting used to._

_I just wish I could be with my son...I hate this..._

_-M.L._

* * *

><p>Tom looks up at the ceiling as he finishes reading that page. In a despondent voice, he says "Mom, I know you have a gag order on you, but anytime you want to address any of what I'm reading...feel free."<p>

Tom waits for about 10 seconds to hear a response, but gets nothing. Tom just shakes his head in discouragement and turns it over to the second to last page in the file.

* * *

><p><em>14 April, 1985<em>

_It's been six years since we lost track of The Passenger, but now, we have found her again and it's time to save her. We have reached a critical point in our mission._

_William was able to find an inconspicuous orphanage in Argentina to take Nadia to when she is rescued. No one would even think to look there._

_And yet, even though I should be happy that young Nadia will have a peaceful future, I can't help but have this feeling of dread. William and I know this mission comes with a lot of personal risk._

_However, I can take a deep breath and feel good going forward. William has kept Tom's Rambaldi document safe and, despite my wish to destroy it, he feels it's better to keep it as leverage on Elena, who he has yet to see. I also burned the ultimate prophecy page that Tom created. If it doesn't exist, then it can't be fulfilled._

_Meanwhile, I think that my son is going to be safe living in little Bunker, Missouri. He just turned 13 years old and is growing up to be a handsome young man._

_For the last year, William, as Phil Conners, has been Tom's teacher at school, keeping an eye on him as he grows up._

_He tells me that Tom is still a very emotional boy. But, he also tells me that he always stays at his brother's side. Tom and Eddie are very close and I'm glad he has his brother to lean on. He's also getting good grades in school, which is encouraging. I just wish he'd calm down...according to William, it seems like he's always agitated about something._

_Even though it's been tough on the both of us since going rogue, bouncing from place to place, I've come to appreciate William Vaughn as a man. Our feelings for each other have grown so much since we went our own way six years ago, and I can now say I love him not just as a friend, but as a lover. He truly is a good man._

_I can honestly say that I have accomplished my goal with Tom to keep him safe. The last thing I have to do is make sure Nadia is safe. _

_I will save that little girl today...even if it's the last thing I do._

_-M.L._

* * *

><p>Tom looks stunned after he's done reading. He looks at the date on top of this diary entry, and then looks back to the first page at Mary's date of death. He then starts shaking his head quickly. "No...don't tell me..."<p>

Tom flips the page and sees one final diary entry, with different handwriting.

* * *

><p><em>15 April, 1985<em>

_My name is William Vaughn and I came across this diary after Mary died yesterday. Tom, if you're reading this, I want you to understand the woman your mother was._

_Mary lost her life yesterday in the Soviet Union. Young Nadia was still under Soviet custody and being subjected to Rambaldi Fluid treatments at the tender age of 6._

_Myself and Mary were able to infiltrate the facility she was being held in. I was able to grab Nadia and, as I was running away, Mary was alongside me, trying to fight off the guards trying to hunt us down._

_As she was running alongside of me, she realized that there was too many of them, and that they were coming too fast. She then decided to do the most selfless act I've ever seen..._

_I'll never forget her last words: "I have to cover your escape. Keep Nadia safe." Before I could ask what she was doing, she then took the pin out of a grenade and started running back at the guards with a loud yell and a look of fury in her face._

_The grenade detonated in her hand while she dove into the guards._

_The blast killed her and most of the guards chasing us. Her sacrifice allowed me to escape with Nadia._

_I am now sitting in a garden in Argentina, writing you this. Nadia has been delivered to the orphanage. Your mother's final wish was to see that Nadia was ok, and thanks to her, she is._

_Your mother was so driven to see that you two were kept safe, and even though she couldn't be with you growing up, she never stopped loving you. She did all of this because she loved you._

_Mary was a good woman. I'll miss her, but I'm happy to have known her. And I will continue to honor her wish to keep you a secret for as long as I live._

_Good luck. I hope this note finds you well, if it finds you at all._

_-William_

* * *

><p>After reading that entry, Tom is now a complete basketcase. He buries his head in his hands and starts openly sobbing at the fate of his mother and the fact she died for the woman that's about to be his wife.<p>

As he sobs uncontrollably, he looks up to the ceiling and asks "Mom...why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" Tom goes back to sobbing, and he never hears an answer from his mother.

About a minute later, Nadia walks into the apartment, holding a couple bags of groceries. She immediately spots Tom on the couch, sobbing his eyes out. Nadia quickly drops the bags and runs over to Tom and stands next to him. With a hand on his shoulder, she concernedly asks "Tom, what happened? What's wrong?"

Tom stops sobbing after hearing Nadia's voice and looks up at her. He studies her face for a while, trying to digest that the reason his mother died is standing right in front of him.

Tom then stands up and gives Nadia a strong hug. Now back to sobbing again, he says "I love you so much...I love you so much..." Nadia, not sure what to make of this, says "I...love you too...what's going on?"

Tom releases the hug and looks at Nadia's worried face. He puts his hands on her shoulders and says "I just learned how my mother died." Nadia asks "What happened?"

Tom sniffles a bit and says "She died while she was saving you from the Soviets! She died so you could live!" Tom then hugs Nadia again and cries into her shoulders. Nadia, meanwhile, looks completely shocked at this news and says "Oh my goodness...Tom...I'm so sorry..."

Tom, head still buried in her shoulder, says "Don't be, you didn't do anything wrong! For the last years of her life, my mother worked with William Vaughn to keep the both of us safe...safe from Rambaldi's prophecy! She wanted to save you...and she died so you could live in peace!" Nadia now sheds some tears herself as she tries to comfort Tom and says "I can't believe she would...how did she die?"

Tom lifts his head off of Nadia shoulders and, still emotionally wrecked and his voice cracking, says "She was escaping from the facility while William held you...when the guards started bearing down on them, she pulled the pin out of a grenade and blew herself up so William could escape with you!" Tom starts crying again. "The last thing she wanted in life was to make sure you were ok! Nadia...if it weren't for my mother...you wouldn't be here right now!"

Nadia hugs Tom again, not only to try to give him comfort, but to try to get comfort herself over this news. "Tom, I feel so terrible that your mother sacrificed herself over me...I can't believe she would do that..." Still hugging, Tom replies "I just wish my mother would have said something about that. But now...now, I finally understand her..."

Tom releases the hug and looks at Nadia still very saddened. "She didn't want us to endure what we did for the prophecy, and she spent the last 9 years of her life in anonymity trying to save us. And look at what she's done just in the past year...telling us about The Lifeforce, her deal with Irina...and..." Tom then realizes something. "Maybe she DID lie about your father so you could avoid him. She must see him as a threat to us." Nadia looks away and shakes her head in dismay. "If that's true, it still doesn't change a thing about me and my father. I'm done with him."

Tom then says "All this time, I thought she was working with Rambaldi to steer us towards this ultimate prophecy...but she was really..." Nadia, now putting the pieces together, cuts him off. "Tom, at first, she wanted to keep us apart so we could be protected when she was alive. But after she died, she changed...she did want us to be together. And if she couldn't protect us anymore, maybe she thought we could protect each other."

Tom nods quickly and says "Yes! That MUST be why she helped us through the troubles we faced since we got to APO. I can't hate my mother now...she was just looking out for us!" Nadia then asks "She hasn't talked to you since you read her diary, has she?" Tom shakes his head. "No...I hope it's just because she wants me to figure things out for myself and not because I told her not to talk to me ever again when I was in prison."

Nadia nods then looks up at the ceiling. With her voice cracking somewhat, she says "Mary, if you're listening..." A tear then rolls down her right cheek. "...thank you."

Tom wipes the lone tear from Nadia's cheek and gives her a hug and sheds some more tears himself. They hold their hug for a while, still trying to compose themselves over the news of the night.

Finally, they release and Nadia, still very somber, asks "Were you able to finish packing for our trip tomorrow?" Tom meekly nods. "Yeah, I had to take a break in there...speaking of which..." Tom looks past Nadia's shoulder at the grocery bags. "What took you so long? It took you that long for just two bags?"

Nadia goes to say something...but then decides against it, in light of tonight's news. "I had to have something taken care of." Tom asks "What?"

A dejected Nadia shakes her head and gives Tom a kiss on the cheek. "I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, I just want us to get some sleep and put this behind us." Tom nods and turns away. He walks over to the files, sorts them, then closes up the manilla folder. "We'll stop by Sydney's tomorrow morning on the way. I think Vaughn should know about what his father was up to."

Meanwhile, Nadia walks over to the bags and grabs them. "That's fine. I'll put these away, and then get ready for bed." Tom tries to crack a happy smile as she cuts Nadia off from the kitchen to give her a kiss.

When they release, Tom sincerely says "I love you so much. I'm glad you're here." Nadia looks down and, feeling a sense of remorse over Mary's sacrifice for her, just says "I love you, too."

She then walks over to the kitchen. Tom looks over and notices that she's downtrodden over what his mother did for her, and really he can't blame her. He takes a deep sigh and walks into the bedroom.

Tom takes off his shirt and shorts, leaving just his white tank top and boxers on. He takes his and Nadia's travel bags off the bed and sets them on the floor, then folds down the covers and crawls into bed.

Nadia walks back into the bedroom not much longer later after turning off the lights in the kitchen and living room. She takes off her earrings, puts them in her jewelry box on the dresser, and then changes into her nightgown.

She joins Tom in bed and, still not saying anything, they both decide to hold on to each other in bed for a while, both looking at each other and trying to digest the circumstances that have led them into each other's arms not just now, but every time before tonight.

Finally, Nadia says "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day." Tom gives Nadia a small peck on the lips and, in an attempt to cheer her up a bit, says "I love you, beautiful." Nadia doesn't smile back and, in a somber tone, says "I love you, handsome."

They reach over and turn out their bedside lights and try to go to sleep, both of them shaken over the way Mary Falk lost her life and the circumstances why.

Neither one of them would fall asleep for a while.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	34. Ch 33: Moving Forward

**MOVING FORWARD**

* * *

><p><em>Author Note: MASSIVELY long chapter. I didn't even realize how long it was until I was about done with it. Didn't really plan on this being a particularly big chapter, either. Go figure.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Apartment<strong>_

The first signs of the summer sunlight start to shine through Tom and Nadia's bedroom window. It's 6:14 in the morning, and Tom lies in bed facing Nadia in their usual formation. Both of them are still asleep.

Suddenly, the digital alarm clock on Tom's bedside flips to 6:15 and the alarm starts going off. Tom wakes up, reaches over and turns it off, and then returns to his spot in bed and sees the alarm or his shuffling around didn't wake up Nadia.

He looks at Nadia's sleeping face and immediately is reminded of where they left off last night: both of them feeling like absolute crap about the fate of Mary Falk, Tom's mother.

Tom studies Nadia's face for a while and starts to feel bad again...but, his pain isn't directed inwards this time. He feels bad for the woman lying next to him.

He reaches over and strokes some of Nadia's long black hair that had fallen in front of her face behind her right ear. The feeling on her face causes Nadia to open her eyes slowly and look back at Tom lying next to her.

Tom cracks a small smile and says "Good morning." Nadia, in a half sleepy and half dispirited voice, just says "Good morning" back to him.

Tom picks up on the lack of energy coming back from Nadia. He warmly asks "Were you able to sleep ok?" Nadia closes her eyes for a bit, then opens them again. Still dispirited, she says "Not really. Did you?"

Tom props his head up with his right hand and says "I had trouble myself. I noticed you got up for a while during the night." Nadia takes a deep breath and says "I had to read your mother's diary for myself."

Tom nods his head and says "And you still feel bad about it." Nadia gives Tom a somewhat peeved look and asks "How else am I supposed to feel, Tom? A woman I didn't know at the time blew herself up just so I could be safe...and the son of that very woman is lying next to me and is about to marry me in a week! I don't know how I should be feeling..."

Tom puts his hand on Nadia's side and starts rubbing it gently, trying to reassure her. "Nadia, I still love you. What my mother did changes nothing about how I feel about you." Nadia quickly flops over to the right and lies on her back. She takes a deep breath and just stares at the ceiling, trying to make sense of her feelings.

Tom sighs at Nadia's consternation and says "Look, we should talk about what happened to my mother before we leave for vacation..." Before he can say any more, Nadia suddenly rolls out of bed and, as she stands up, says "Let me make a pot of coffee first. I'm not ready for that yet."

Tom gets out of bed himself and says "That's fine. I'm going to jump in the shower." Nadia looks down at her travel bag lying on the floor and flatly says "I have to get some things together still for our trip. I'll take care of that while you're in the shower."

Tom then walks up to Nadia and puts his hands on her shoulders. Nadia sheepishly looks back up at Tom as he says "I love you, Nadia." Nadia keeps looking up at Tom, then falls into his arms and hugs him. Still despondent, she says "I love you, too."

They then separate so they can do what they need to do before talking.

* * *

><p>Tom emerges from the bathroom about 30 minutes later in a white tank top and shorts, now refreshed from his shower. Meanwhile, Nadia sits on the couch, still in her nightgown and sipping on coffee and continuing to stew over things.<p>

Tom starts walking over to the kitchen, but is interrupted by Nadia saying "I made you a cup. It's on the coffee table." Tom looks back over at Nadia and smiles a bit. "Thanks."

Nadia gives Tom a small smile back as he walks over and sits down next to her. Tom grabs his cup, takes a sip, then sits it back down and looks back over at Nadia. "Did you get your packing done?" Nadia nods and just says "Yeah."

Seeing as Nadia's not in the most talkative mood still, Tom says "Nadia...about the diary, don't worry about what I think about you. I still love you to death...and if anything, I feel more blessed that you're in my life now." Nadia shakes her head and asks "I appreciate you saying that, but that's not what's bothering me about Mary's sacrifice."

Tom quickly replies "Then, what is bothering you?" Nadia looks down and says "I didn't ask her to do that for me. A woman I never even met decides to blow herself up, just so this six year old girl she doesn't even know can live. Why would she do that? Why did she even care that much?"

Tom looks down and says "Knowing my mother and knowing how I think...I know exactly why she did that." Nadia scoots over a bit and strongly asks "Tell me! Because I still can't wrap my head around it!"

Tom looks back at her and says "She made a hard decision to leave me and the rest of my family under the false impression that she was going to make sure I was able to fulfill my role in the Rambaldi prophecy. She also became emotionally invested in you when she heard about The Connection and the fact that we'd be together. But, if you read the letters, she starts having regret when I produced the ultimate prophecy document. She didn't have to say it, I could just tell in her words. The problem was...she was well past the point of no return when her accident was simulated. She couldn't just give up and say 'I'm going to be a mother now' and return to Bunker from the dead. So, seeing as she already pushed her chips was all-in, she made it her life goal to protect us." Nadia grabs Tom's hand and, as she squeezes it hard, asks "But why did she kill herself for me? Couldn't there have been another way?"

Tom replies "Maybe, maybe not. But, she probably felt that saving you was all that she had left to do on earth anymore. She felt satisfied that I was protected, and wanted to make sure you were, too. By then, it had been years since she had even seen me, and it was probably tearing her apart inside. And after you were saved...what else was there for my mother? Continuing to be a vagabond with Bill Vaughn? Nadia, when she charged at the guards with a live grenade in her hand...she knew what she was doing." Nadia shakes her head and says "But Tom, she's your mother..."

Tom shakes his head back and cuts her off. "To me, she died in the car accident in 1972. I had no idea what she was doing. And now that I do know...I feel like a complete tool for ripping into her in prison and telling her to stay out of my life. I now actually respect her very much for all she did for us." Nadia looks down and says "Don't you feel bad that she abandoned you when you were just a baby? You resent your father for that..."

Tom lifts Nadia's chin up and says "Unlike your parents and my dad, she didn't leave me and not give a damn about my well-being. She left FOR me, Nadia. And eventually, she made you a part of her purpose in life, too. I'm grateful that she did what she did for us. It wasn't for a lack of caring...if anything, it was because she cared too much. And in your case, I'm forever in debt to her for allowing you to escape from Soviet custody. Even though she might not have wanted us to meet, we did. And I can't thank her enough for all she did to help us get here." Nadia rubs Tom's hand a bit and says "I'm happy we're at this point, too. But, I never asked for her to die for me! I just can't get over that!"

Tom says "We never asked for anything that has happened to us. I never asked my six friends from Storm Crew to die just so I could get a partial metal skeleton. But, these things happened, Nadia, and they happened for reasons we had no control over. It _crushed_ me when I read about what happened to my mother, but I understand why she did it. And instead of feeling bad over it, we should feel grateful that there was an outside force trying to do good in both our lives instead of trying to lead us towards pain and suffering. Don't feel bad for what happened to my mother, Nadia. She made her choice, and she chose to help us. And like I said before, I still love you more than you'll ever know, and my mother's actions change nothing between you and me. If anything, I love you even MORE, if that's even possible, and I feel much more blessed you're in my life. Without my mother's help...where would we be right now? My guess...six feet deep in coffins. Instead..." Tom leans in and lightly touches Nadia's face. "We're about to go on vacation...to a town that, this time next week, we're going to get married in. And Nadia, our futures are so bright now. We both agreed to move forward with our lives from our pasts...I say let's keep moving forward like we have been these past three weeks."

Nadia digests what Tom just said for a bit, then agreeably nods and smiles. "You are absolutely right. Your mother wouldn't have wanted what happened to her to drag us down...especially now, right before two of potentially the best, most relaxing, most enjoyable weeks of our lives! She fought and struggled so we could be at this very moment. And I AM grateful for what she did for me...and for us!" Tom, now smiling fully himself, says "And I know that my mother is going to be watching us next week when we make our wedding vows. We'll be honoring her by making the next two weeks the happiest weeks of our lives."

Nadia then wraps her arms around Tom's neck and, with a wide smile, says "You're right. Thanks for making me see things the way they are. You always have a way of cheering me up!" Tom puts his hands on her hips and, with a wide smile, says "No problem. And as always, thanks for being you."

Nadia giggles a bit and says "No problem! I love you, handsome." Tom laughs a bit and says "I love you too, beautiful. Now, there's a villa and beach in San Felipe waiting for us! Let's get going!" Nadia exclaims "Yes!" The two then give each other a strong kiss and get up off the couch to finish getting ready.

Tom then stops in his tracks as he walks towards the bedroom. He turns to Nadia and inquisitively asks "Wait, didn't you say that there was something you wanted to tell me this morning?" Nadia stops and thinks for a bit, then turns around and says "I'll tell you at Sydney's."

Tom looks at her confused. "Why not tell me now?" Nadia smiles wide and says "Just...because! Now, go get ready! We have a vacation to go to!"

Tom looks at her a little peculiar, then shakes his head and cracks a small, wondering smile as he goes back to getting ready. Meanwhile, Nadia smiles wide as she dumps out their coffee cups.

After all, she's got something big to tell.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sydney's Apartment<strong>_

Tom and Nadia walk through the front door of Sydney's apartment, startling Sydney, who was sitting at the breakfast bar drinking coffee and still in the process of waking up.

Tom is in a tropical beach shirt and white cargo shorts while Nadia is wearing a green tank top and white capri pants. Nadia also has her sunglasses on the top of her head. Sydney, meanwhile, is dressed for work in her usual APO attire.

At the sight of his sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law, Sydney exclaims "Hey, shouldn't you two be on the way to Mexico now?" Tom smirks and says "Well, it's nice to see you, too!" Nadia then says "We wanted to stop by before we hit the road."

Sydney gives Nadia a hug as Tom sets the file containing his mother's diary on the breakfast bar. Sydney still unsure why they're here, says "Well, I'm glad you came..." Sydney then releases the hug and gives Tom a hug. As they hug, Tom tells her "We have a couple pieces of business to take care of before we left. Is Michael here?"

As he says that, Vaughn emerges from the bedroom, fully dressed for work. He tells Tom and Nadia "Hey, good morning!" As he says that, Tom releases the hug with Sydney and says "Hey, Michael." Nadia smiles and says "Hey."

Tom then turns around and grabs the file from the breakfast bar and hands it to Vaughn. "Here's those documents you requested." Vaughn nods while Sydney says "That's your mother's diary, I take it."

Tom looks at her funny and says "How did you know?" Vaughn answers for her by saying "Last night, I was looking at my dad's old photos and Syd was curious. Sorry Tom, I couldn't find any pictures of your mother." Tom understandingly nods and says "I figured as such. She wanted to stay anonymous and probably wouldn't let your father take pictures of her."

Sydney folds her arms and asks "How did you come across this diary?" Nadia answers for Tom and says "My father came by yesterday to drop that off." Vaughn curiously asks "Why would he care about Tom's mother?"

Tom looks at Sydney and Nadia, then back over at Vaughn. "I had an attempt on my life while I was in prison. The man that tried to kill me said Sloane sent him. My mother told me months later that she saw the conversation between Sloane and this man and confirmed he wanted me killed. However, Sloane says he didn't send this man to kill me, and decided to research my mother to see if she had any ulterior motives for lying to me about him. This is what he came up with."

Nadia then says "At first, Tom's mother faked her death so she could help Tom achieve his role in the Rambaldi prophecy, but when Tom went through the treatment to reveal the ultimate prophecy, she was horrified and decided instead to protect me and him." Nadia then hangs her head and says "She would later blow herself up with a grenade so Vaughn's father could save me from Soviet Union custody." Sydney looks troubled at that and says "Oh wow..." Tom sheepishly nods and says "Yeah, my thoughts exactly."

Vaughn then says "Tom, I'm sorry to hear about that. But, something does have me curious now. Do you remember anything about the ultimate prophecy?" Tom shakes his head. "No. I was 4 and a half years old when I revealed the document and I have no recollection of the process I went through. All I know is the ultimate prophecy must be something really bad to shake up my mother like that."

Vaughn nods, but doesn't say anything. Tom then says "You can do what you want with that diary. I never want to see it again." Vaughn looks at him funny and says "Don't you think Sloane would want this back?"

Tom shakes his head and animatedly says "I don't give a flying shit about what he wants! For all I care, he can stick those right up his..." Sydney then cuts him off before he can finish his profane statement. "The timing of this seems strange...right on the eve of your vacation. I wonder why he chose to present it now, if at all." Nadia then says "I think I know why."

The other three look at her as Nadia continues. "I read the diary early this morning. Yesterday, when my father confronted Tom about this, he said that he hopes that Tom could talk to Mary to discuss the diary. But I think my father really wanted to have Tom talk to Mary so he could find out what the ultimate prophecy is." Tom, seeing where Nadia is going, asks Vaughn and Sydney "Have any of you two seen Sloane or heard about anything he's been doing with his spare time lately?"

Vaughn and Sydney both shake their heads. Nadia then says "He always put me and Rambaldi as his priorities in life...and I'm afraid that since he's lost me, that he's going after the prophecy again. This must be why he was so interested in Tom and Mary's input into this document." Tom nods and says "Now that you mention it, that does make sense."

Sydney asks Tom "Did your mother say anything to you yesterday?" Tom shakes his head. "No. We're not exactly on speaking terms after she told me of the deal she worked out with Irina to have me thrown in prison, but when I wanted some explanations from her yesterday, she never responded."

Tom looks over at Vaughn with a somewhat down look. "There's also something else you should know about our parents, Michael." Vaughn curiously asks "What?"

Tom sighs and says "We're almost stepbrothers." Vaughn looks at Tom funny, not really registering his statement. Sydney, apparently getting it, asks "Bill Vaughn and Mary Falk were romantic?"

Tom looks over at her and nods. "Yes, but only after Bill left his family in 1979 to go rogue with my mother. They changed their identities, and in my mom's last diary entry, she mentioned that they were lovers." Tom looks back over at Vaughn, who's very surprised over this development. Tom tells him "I'm sorry, Michael." Vaughn dismissively shrugs and says "It doesn't bother me. It's just funny how small of a world we live in sometimes. Anyway, thanks for bringing these documents over, I'll read them later."

Tom nods, but doesn't say anything. Now that that conversation was over, Nadia then smiles wide and says "Ok, everyone, I have an announcement!" Tom, Sydney, and Vaughn both look over at her curiously. Tom then sarcastically exclaims "Finally, the drama ends!" Sydney asks him "What do you mean?"

Before Tom can respond, Nadia excitedly says "I've been holding this from Tom since yesterday. I wanted to tell all three of you at once. Now Tom...close your eyes." Tom gives her a strange look and asks "Why don't Michael and Sydney have to?"

Nadia intently replies "Because I want to see the look on your face when I show you what I'm about to show you! Now close your eyes!" Tom rolls his eyes and reluctantly does as instructed.

Meanwhile, Nadia reaches into her purse and pulls out a 5 by 7 piece of paper. She then holds it out in front of Tom's face.

Tom can hear Sydney and Vaughn both gasping a bit, seeing what they're seeing. Nadia smiles wide at the surprised look on their faces, then says "Ok, Tom, you can open your eyes now!"

Tom quickly opens his eyes and sees what Nadia's showing him...

An ultrasound picture.

Tom's jaw drops as grabs and studies the picture. Now in complete disbelief and not entirely sure what that blob in the middle of the picture is, he asks "Nadia? Is this..." Nadia cuts him off and yells excitedly "I'M PREGNANT!"

Tom lets out a sudden gasp and starts laughing out of happiness as he looks back up at Nadia. Sydney, meanwhile, quickly gets up from her chair and gives Nadia a tight hug and says "Congratulations, sis!" Nadia laughs and says "Thank you so much! I can't believe this is happening!"

Vaughn, meanwhile, gives Tom a pat on the back and happily says "Congrats, Tom." Tom looks back at Vaughn and, still processing this, says with an astonished smile "Th...thanks!"

Tom looks back over at Nadia, who has released the hug with Sydney. Tom then steps forward and gives Nadia a very warm hug. As they hug, he says in happy disbelief "Nadia...this is...so amazing..." Nadia, still radiating joy, says "I know! You're going to be a daddy!"

Tom releases the hug and, happily looking deep in Nadia's eyes, says "You're going to be a mommy! I can't...this is...wow!" Nadia laughs a bit and says "I know, it's so exciting, isn't it? We're having a baby!"

Sydney, who has been watching on happily, says "Tom, I have to admit, I knew this could be coming a couple of days ago. Nadia asked for my gynecologist." Tom looks at her a little surprised, then back at Nadia. "Why didn't you tell me? You haven't been feeling great the past couple days...you had me worried!"

Nadia giggles and says "I wanted to surprise you! I'm sorry!" Tom shakes his head quickly and says "Don't say you're sorry...this is one of the happiest moments of my life!"

Vaughn then asks "Can I look the ultrasound picture?" Tom quickly remembers he has it in his hand and hands it to Vaughn. "Yeah, sure." Sydney goes over to look at the picture. Nadia, meanwhile, tells Tom "I'm feeling a lot better, by the way, the gynecologist gave me some medication for the nausea. Our baby was causing it!" Tom lets out a sigh of relief and says "Thank goodness, I'd hate for you to be sick during our vacation!"

Sydney then looks up from the picture and asks "When was the baby conceived?" Nadia replies "Two and a half weeks ago. It would have been the first Tuesday after you got out of prison, Tom." Tom thinks back to that week, then hangs his head ashamed.

A concerned Nadia asks "What is it?" Tom looks back at Sydney and Vaughn, then back at Nadia, still a little ashamed over something. "It can wait, I'll tell you in the car. It's private."

Sydney then hands Nadia the ultrasound picture back and, as she does, suddenly remembers something and says "Oh, I'll be right back, I have to get you something, Nadia!" Before Nadia can ask what it is, Sydney jogs over to the nursery. Tom looks over at Vaughn, who smirks and says "I think I know what it is..."

Sydney then quickly walks back out of the nursery with a book in her hand. She walks up and hands it to Nadia. Nadia looks at the cover and reads the title out loud "What To Expect When You're Expecting..." Sydney smiles wide and says "That book was so helpful throughout my term. There's also good stuff for you in there as well, Tom!"

Tom looks at her funny and says "Me? Nadia's doing all the work!" Nadia playfully slaps Tom on the shoulder and says "I better not be! You need to be my strength and support! You're not getting off easy here!"

Tom rubs his shoulder a bit and gives Nadia a playfully irritated look. "I knew that!" Sydney laughs a bit at their interaction, then looks over at the microwave clock. "I really hate to do this, but me and Vaughn have to get going to work." Vaughn then says "Congrats again. I'm happy for the both of you." Tom and Nadia both say "Thanks!"

Sydney then gives Tom a hug and seriously whispers in his ear "Take good care of my sister, ok? She's going to need you these upcoming months." Tom smiles and whispers back "I will, you have my word. Her wishes will be my command."

Sydney giggles a bit, then releases the hug and gives Nadia another hug and whispers "If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask me. I think you're in good hands with Tom, though." Nadia smiles wide and whispers back "I know I am. I can always count on him."

They release the hug and everyone exchanges their final goodbyes. Tom then jubilantly follows an equally giddy Nadia back out the front door.

Tom then follows Nadia to the car and, before she can get in the passenger's side, Tom grabs her by the right arm and spins her around, surprising her. Now startled, she asks "What is it?" Tom smiles wide and says "I've been holding this in since you told me the great news..."

Tom then leans in and gives Nadia a big, tender kiss...and another...and another.

Finally, they release and stare into each other's eyes for a little bit. Looking at Nadia has always been a thing of joy for Tom, but this time...she looks different...better even. It's like she has a different glow about her. Meanwhile, Nadia notices Tom is similarly glowing himself and this pleases her as well.

Finally, a joyful Tom says "You have never looked more beautiful to me than you do right now! You're carrying my child...you have no idea what that means to me!" Nadia gently rubs Tom's left side of his face and says "I know you're going to take care of me these next few months. I can't think of a better partner to have a child with."

Tom smiles and says "And I can't think of a better mother. I love you so much." With a wide smile on her face, Nadia puts her hand on the back of Tom's head and pulls him in for another kiss. They release and Nadia says "I love you, too! Now, let's go to San Felipe! This day is only going to get better!"

Tom smiles wide and walks over to the driver's side door. They both get into their car and drive off.

It would take them about 2 hours to get to Tijuana. But to them, the whole drive felt like it only took 10 minutes because of the excitement over the news of the day.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tijuana, Mexico<strong>_

Tom pulls off the highway into a less than desirable section of Tijuana. Nadia's cheery mood is dampened a bit as she observes the plight around her: abandoned buildings, the homeless, and just a general cruddy feeling around the area.

Nadia then looks over at Tom, who looks oblivious to his surroundings, and asks "How far are we from the safehouse?" Tom looks over and calmly says "Just a couple blocks, babe. We're almost there."

Nadia nods as she keeps looking out at the area and looks like she's growing more and more despondent. Tom, who is unfazed by his surroundings, looks over and notices Nadia looks troubled about the area they're in.

Seeing as he's got to get her mind off the area, he says "Ok, do you know why I hung my head at Sydney's when you told us when our baby was conceived?" Nadia look over and asks "Yeah, what was that about?"

Tom laughs a bit, then says "I cannot believe, after all the work we did, that our child was conceived on the freaking couch!" Nadia busts out laughing and, in between laughs, says "So what?"

Tom looks over at her and says "SO? Nadia, in the days before and after our kid was conceived, we were doing things straight out of romance novels! And when does our work bear fruit? During spontaneous, unromantic sex on the couch during a movie! I mean, come on!" Nadia just smiles and says "Maybe our couch is a magical couch! Why do you care so much where our child was conceived, anyway?"

Tom shakes his head as he turns the car right onto a side street. "I dunno, it just feels kinda cheap, that's all. What do you think our baby is going to think..." Nadia looks aghast now and says "Why on earth would we tell our baby where we had him or her? Some things are better left unsaid, Tom!"

Tom nods and says "Yeah, agreed. We'll keep quiet about it." Nadia then leans over and gives Tom a peck on the cheek to try to put his mind at ease. "Tom, I don't care where or how the baby was conceived...just that it was conceived to begin with. That's all that matters to me."

Tom looks over at her and, with an understanding smile, says "You're right. I guess it doesn't matter." He then turns back to the road and turns left and stops in front of a gate that leads into some storage bins.

Tom rolls down the window as the man at the guard shack walks out. The guard asks "¿Tiene usted su tarjeta? (Do you have your pass?)" Tom smirks and says "Sí, Hernando Rojas se aferra a ella. (Yeah, Hernando is holding onto it.)"

The guard then curiously asks "¿Por qué iba a celebrar su pase? (Why would he be holding your pass?)" Tom casually replies "Porque yo tengouno de los contenedores especiales en la espalda. (Because I have one of the special bins in the back.)"

The guard then nods and asks "Nombre? (Name?)" Tom replies "Tom Falk." The guard then grabs his walkie talkie and says "Hernando, un hombre llamado Tom Falk está aquí para su contenedor especial. (Hernando, a man named Tom Falk is here for his special bin.)"

On the walkie, we hear a man say "Yo voy a estar ahi! (I'll be right there!)" The guard then says "Espera aqui. (Wait here)"

Tom nods and sits back in his seat. Nadia asks "Do you have to do this every time you go to the safehouse?" Tom looks over and says "After today, no. But, I knew it'd be a while before I could get back down here, so I had the owner hold on to my key and pass for me."

As he says that, we see a golf cart drive up to the other side of the gate. The guard goes back to his shack and hits a button to open the gate. The short, older man driving the cart, meanwhile, steps out of the cart and walks up to the driver's side with a big smile on his face.

With his arms outstretched, he says "Finalmente, Halcón Diablo vuelve! (Finally, Halcon Diablo returns!)" Tom smirks as he reaches out and shakes the man's hand. "Me alegro de verte, Hernando. ¿Cómo va el negocio? (Good to see you, Hernando. How's business?)"

Hernando shrugs and says "Arriba y abajo, ya sabes cómo es. ¿Quién es tu amiga encantadora? (Up and down, you know how it is. Who's your lovely friend?)" Tom looks over at Nadia and says "Esta hermosa dama es Nadia. Ella, por alguna extraña razón, ha aceptado ser mi esposa. (This lovely lady is Nadia. She, for some crazy reason, has agreed to be my wife.)

Hernando reaches out his hand into the car and says "Un placer conocer a la mujer en la vida de este hombre. Y tan hermoso, también! (Such a pleasure to meet the woman in this man's life. And so beautiful, too!)" Nadia lets out a flattered giggle and shakes the man's hand. "Es un placer conocerte, también. (It's good to meet you, too.)" Tom looks over at Hernando and says "Ella va a tener acceso a mi bandeja también. (She's going to need access to my bin as well.)"

Hernando nods and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out two keys and two cards and hands them to Tom. "Aquí está una copia de su clave y una tarjeta adicional para la bella dama. Ella esbienvenida en cualquier momento. Un amiga de halcón diablo es un amiga mío! (Here's a copy of your key and an extra card for the beautiful lady. She's welcome here anytime. A friend of Halcon Diablo is a friend of mine!) Tom grabs a key and a card and gives it to Nadia. "Just flash that card to the guard every time you come here." Nadia nods and puts them both in her purse.

Tom then looks back over at Hernando and says "Gracias por mantener un ojo en mi papelera, mientras yo estaba fuera. (Thanks for keeping an eye on my bin while I was away.)" Hernando says "Después de lo que hizo por mí años atrás, fue un placer. Voy a dejar que ustedes dos van ahora, voy a hablar con usted más tarde, Tomás. (After what you did for me years back, it was my pleasure. I'll let you two go now, I'll talk to you later, Tomas.)"

Tom nods and says "Adios, Hernando." Hernando then steps back as the gate opens in front of Tom again. Tom then drives forward into the storage bin area.

As he drives forward, Nadia asks curiously "What did you do for this man to earn his friendship?" Tom thinks about how he's going to word this story and then says "His 7 year old daughter was gunned down in a playground. She got caught in the middle of a drive-by and was not the target, but still was murdered in the name of gang warfare. Hernando is a friend of an informant I went through down here, and while me and another agent named Freddie Torres were down here on other Anti-Cartel business, our informant told me about what happened to Hernando's baby girl. Even though we had to break protocol, we helped Hernando get revenge." Nadia then asks "Why get involved? Shouldn't that be a matter for local police?"

As they continue to pass rows of storage bins, Tom replies "The local police didn't care. Plus, when I hear about little kids being involved in gang activity..._I_ get involved. Sadly, this wasn't my first rodeo when it came to innocent kids getting killed in the name of gang warfare." Nadia understandingly nods, then asks "So, what did you do?"

Tom says "We did some digging into this incident and, as it turns out, all of the shooting came from one car, meaning there's only one finger to point. We traced that car to a relatively small-time gang and found the owner of the car. After slapping him around a bit, he admitted that he didn't shoot the girl, but his gangbanger friend did. So, we paid that gangbanger friend a visit, he confirmed his crime, and took him over to these storage bins, where Hernando was waiting." Tom then looks over at Nadia and says "We let Hernando get vengeance for his daughter's death. And we let him choose the punishment." Nadia, a little surprised, says "You let Hernando kill this man?"

Tom nods slowly. "Hernando emptied a full clip into this gangbanger's face. You couldn't recognize him when he was done. We then disposed of the body by tossing him out of our quick-moving van on his gang's doorstep. The gang got the message. Justice was served and it didn't divert us very much from our other business." Tom then looks back over at Nadia. "I understood why Hernando wanted blood. If it were our child, I'd want the same thing."

Nadia says nothing as she absorbs the story. Meanwhile, Tom turns left and stops in front of a separate row of storage bins. "Anyway, Hernando had these bins built for us as a token of his thanks. Mine is here on the end, Mike had the one next to me, and a couple other agents bought into these units as well."

Nadia looks out of her window and notices these units aren't very big. The roll-up doors are normal door-sized, not like garage doors. Nadia then looks over and asks "Aren't these units a bit small for what you need?" Tom looks over at her and smirks. "They're just fine. Now, let's go check it out."

Tom shuts off the car and pops the trunk. Tom and Nadia both step out of their car. From the driver's side, Tom tells Nadia "Test your key, make sure it works." Nadia nods and inserts her key in the slot next to the door. She hears the door "pop" unlocked. She then kneels down and rolls the door open.

Inside the bin, she sees nothing but old furniture. There's a couch lying on it's side on the left, a dresser in the middle on top of a Mexican rug in the middle, and what looks like a couple bookshelves on the right side. It looks like the contents of the bin haven't been touched for some time.

Nadia then looks back at Tom, who is now trying to fish something out of the trunk. She asks "Tom? I think Hernando rented out your storage bin." Tom looks up at her surprised, then looks into the bin. As if he was expecting what he was seeing, he says "Oh no, those is mine."

Nadia's jaw drops a bit, thinking that maybe there is no money or guns here. Meanwhile, Tom goes back to rummaging through the trunk, which is stuffed with their bags. Finally, he pulls out a crowbar.

Tom slams the trunk shut and walks over next to Nadia. "Let's walk in, shall we?" Nadia, a little befuddled, follows Tom into the bin. Tom flips on a switch, which turns on an overhead light. Then, Tom rolls down the door and turns the lock next to the door.

A now unsettled Nadia puts her hands on her hips. She's now in a locked storage bin filled with nothing but crappy furniture with a man with a crowbar. Now, she trusts Tom with her life, but still, she can't help but wonder what the heck is going on. Finally, she frustratedly asks "Ok, Tom. What's going on here?" Tom just casually turns to her and, not realizing Nadia's concern, says "Help me move that dresser over."

Tom gets on his side of the dresser while Nadia gets on hers and they slide the dresser over to where the bookshelves are. Then, Tom bends over and removes the rug and tosses it on the dresser.

Now, they're staring at a blank slate of concrete. Tom takes his crowbar and wedges it into a small yet deep and wide crack on the floor. He lifts up on the floor a bit and we see about a 3 by 3 foot section of floor start to rise. Tom looks over at Nadia and says "When I prop this up, get your corner, I'll grab mine. We'll slide it back, ok?"

Nadia nods and bends over as Tom props up the floor a bit. Tom then kneels down himself and he slides the concrete slab out with Nadia, revealing a trap door underneath with a lock.

Now seeing the trap door, Nadia smiles and says "I see what you're up to now!" Tom looks over at her and smiles back. "I told you your boyfriend wasn't dumb enough to leave his cash and guns in any old place!"

As Nadia smiles all reassured, Tom reaches into his pocket and grabs his keys. He takes one of the keys off of the keyring and hands it to Nadia. "This is your copy of the trap door key." Nadia looks down and asks "Why are you giving me this? This safehouse is yours..."

Tom shakes his head. "No. After today, it's _ours_. Now, go try it out. I had it made a couple days ago, I want to make sure it works." Nadia just nods and bends down and sticks the key in the keyhole. She turns and pulls the door open with the handle. We see a ladder that leads down to a lit-up secret room below.

Tom then makes a hand motion and says "After you, babe." Nadia gets down on the floor and climbs down the ladder to Tom's secret room. Tom follows after her.

As Tom reaches the ground, Nadia continues to look around at this secret room. She sees a wall of guns and ammo over to the right side. There's various machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles and pistols on the wall, along with some grenades and even a couple of knives. There's a table in the middle of the secret room that takes up much of the room.

Tom finishes climbing down and walks over to the left side of the room, where a large safe is. Nadia, meanwhile, says "Hernando must have been really happy you helped him!" Tom laughs and says "Well, I've been paying rent on this room ever since 1994. He's gotten his money's worth. Now, come over here."

As Nadia walks over, Tom takes another key off his keyring and hands it to Nadia. "This is a copy of the key to the safe. You're entitled to anything that's in this safe...I'd just appreciate a heads-up if you're needing any cash so I can account for it." Nadia looks at the key amazed and shakes her head. "Tom, this is too much..."

Tom puts his hand on her shoulders. "Nadia, you're going to be my wife in a week. We share everything. And I do mean _everything_. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me. Now, see if your key works." Nadia smiles a little unsure and puts her key into the keyhole and turns. We hear the safe unlock. Then, Nadia turns the handle to open the safe.

Her jaw immediately drops when she sees the stacks upon stacks of Mexican pesos and some American dollars in the safe. Tom smiles wide and says "Yes, it's still here!" Nadia shakes her head and says "Tom...there's got to be a million dollars..."

Tom cuts her off. "Well, there's about $100k in American dollars in there. The Mexican pesos should total up to..." Tom then reaches into a shelf below the money and pulls out a sheet with various dollar figures on it. We see that shelf also has passports, maps, and other documents.

He looks at the sheet and says "A total of $5,965,071 in Mexican pesos...which calculates to..." Tom then closes his eyes and looks up, doing the calculations in his head. "$437,644 American dollars. So, I have a total of $500 to $550,000 American dollars in this safe, depending on the exchange rate."

Nadia lets out an astonished gasp and says "Tom...we're set for life!" Tom smiles wide and says "I don't have as much in Campeche, but it's still a sizeable amount. Plus, as I said, I have enough legit money saved up. You're right, we could be set for life, but I really should find something to do at least part-time just to be sure."

Nadia quickly puts her hands on Tom's shoulders and says "Tom, we can live on what we have! We're both not big spenders. Plus, I know for a fact that real estate in San Felipe is SO cheap! I did some research before we left." Tom chuckles a bit as he puts his hands on Nadia's hips and asks "Ok, say I don't get a job, then what am I going to do? Sit on my ass? Go fishing every day?"

Nadia kisses Tom on the cheek and says "You'll help raise our baby, in addition to all of that! But, didn't you say you saved all of this up so, one day, you wouldn't have to work?" Tom rolls his eyes and says "No, I saved all of this up so I wouldn't have to constantly risk my life day in and day out! I'll find something easy to do...something on a part-time or contract basis that doesn't eat up a lot of my time. I want to be there for my baby...but I was hoping you'd be the stay-at-home housewife, not me."

Nadia lets out a sigh and says "Well...I guess I'm just being greedy, then. I just want my soon-to-be husband around as much as possible!" Tom smiles and gives Nadia a kiss on the lips and then hugs her. Then, he says "I appreciate that. Oh, and remember...this safehouse doesn't exist. Don't tell anyone, even Sydney." Nadia smiles and says "Our secret is safe with me!"

Tom then releases the hug and grabs a backpack that was lying next to the safe. He sets the bag on the table and asks "Ok, so how much did our villa cost? I'll reimburse you." Nadia shakes her head and says "It was my treat. Don't worry about it."

Tom looks back at her with an purposeful look on his face and says "This trip was originally my idea, remember? Come on, I'll pay." Nadia then says "Ok, we'll go dutch, how about that?"

Tom rolls his eyes and asks "Seriously?" Nadia shrugs and says "It wasn't all that much! Two grand for the both of us."

Tom sighs, then turns back to the safe and grabs a bundle of pesos, then hands it to Nadia. "Ok, $50,000 in Mexican pesos, works out to about $3,600 American dollars." Nadia shakes her head and says "This is way too much..."

Tom cuts her off and says "Take my end out for the villa, and consider the rest spending money for the trip. I think you can manage with $3,600 to play with in San Felipe, right?" Nadia lets out an astounded giggle and says "Well, yeah!"

Tom then grabs another bundle of pesos and tosses it into the duffel bag. "Ok, another $50,000 in pesos for me, so we'll have over $7,000 between the two of us. That should cover food expenses, boat rentals, wedding attire, and whatever else comes to mind...unless you think we need more..." Nadia laughs as she tosses her bundle of pesos into the bag and says "Yeah right! I think we have plenty!"

Tom thinks for a bit, then shakes his head. He reaches back into the safe and grabs another bundle of pesos. "Nah, let's just be sure." Nadia rolls her eyes and laughs as he tosses the pesos in the bag. "We have over $10,000 to play with in San Felipe...wow, that's crazy!"

Tom looks back over at Nadia and grins wide. "I told you were were going to live it up!" Nadia, still amazed at the play money they'll have, exclaims "I guess so!"

Tom then grabs the bag and walks over to the other side of the table, then motions Nadia to come over. "Ok, San Felipe is very safe, but it wouldn't hurt for each of us have a pistol on our side. Go ahead, take your pick." Nadia looks at the display of pistols, then at Tom. "Ok, one, why do you have so many guns and two, where did you get them?"

Tom shrugs and says "I just picked these up off the years from the cartels. I thought they might have some resale value later on, plus, after Mitch got bounced from the Anti-Cartel and I took point over my team, we'd come down here to stock up and go over the game plan." Nadia just nods, but doesn't say anything as she goes back to looking over her weapon choices.

Tom then spots a large, silver gun on the wall and grabs it. As he examines his weapon of choice, he giddily says "Ah, my baby...I've missed you all these years!" Nadia looks at the gun a little funny. "A .357 Magnum? Isn't that a little...I don't know...tacky?"

Tom looks at her funny. "Hey, I only picked this because I don't have any Desert Eagles here!" Nadia laughs a bit and says "We're just talking self-defense here, we're not going on a mission!"

Tom ignores her and grabs a box of shells on the table in front of them. "I don't care! Besides, it'll look intimidating if someone tries to mess with us." Nadia just shakes her head and rolls her eyes as she goes back to looking at the guns. She then picks out a silver Beretta semi-automatic pistol that looks just about as intimidating as Tom's Magnum.

Now, it's Tom's turn to be astonished. "What was this we were talking about tacky and over-the-top?" Nadia looks at him funny. "What? Your gun's stronger."

Tom then says "But it's not a semi-automatic!" Nadia smirks as she nudges Tom out of the way to grab a couple magazine clips from the table in front of him. "You want to look cool...I want to be safe!"

Tom snickers a bit as he opens up the backpack wide. "Ok, my lovely assassin, put your gun and ammo in the bag." Nadia smirks wider as she puts her gun and ammo in the bag, and Tom follows up with his own gun and ammo.

Then, Tom reaches up and grabs a sawed-off shotgun from the wall and some shells. As he does, Nadia asks "What are you doing?" Tom looks over and calmly replies "For the car, in case we get jacked between here and San Felipe."

Nadia nods and sarcastically says "I see. Now, do we need a gun for when we go to the bathroom? What about when we go shopping or beachwalking? We should have every situation covered, you know?" Tom snarkily replies "I appreciate your concern, but I think we'll be fine now!"

Nadia laughs as Tom loads up the shotgun with a couple of shells and puts the rest of the shells into the bag and zips it up. He then looks up and says "Ok, this concludes the tour! Let's roll!" Nadia smiles as she walks back over to the ladder and climbs out of the safehouse. Tom, meanwhile, locks up the safe and follows her out.

Up top in the storage bin, they close the trap door, slide the concrete slab over the trap door, put the rug back down, set the dresser on top of the rug to hide the trap door, and opens the door back out to their car.

Tom grabs his crowbar and tosses it in the trunk, then gets in the car with Nadia, slides his shotgun under his seat, and takes off for San Felipe.

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><p><em><strong>San Felipe<strong>_

Tom and Nadia are now in San Felipe, just slowly cruising through the beach town. It's a beautiful day, if not a bit on the hot side. The sun shines bright and there's not a cloud in the sky.

To their left, they can see the ocean and the beach. The water looks very blue and the waves gently roll in on the coastline.

To their right are the buildings that line the main drag. They look very much like your typical Mexican architecture, but are very colorful and well-maintained.

They notice there's not a whole lot of foot traffic in San Felipe. Part of what attracted Tom, and later Nadia, to this small beach town was that it is mostly a secret from travelers.

Tom and Nadia had no trouble getting from Tijuana to San Felipe, and Nadia was very happy with Tom's choice to travel through Tijuana instead of farther east through Mexicali, and not just because of the safehouse, either. The coastline was nice and scenic to look at until they cut across Baja California after Ensenada.

After gazing at the town some more, they drive further down the coast to their resort, passing more shops and restaurants that catch their eye and to remember to check out later.

After getting the keys to their beach villa, they drive down their small coastal road, passing other villas of various sizes.

Finally, they get to their villa, set off to the side a bit from the others at the end of the street. It's a small, 1 bedroom bungalow that is right on the beach...just what they wanted. This villa is set aside specifically for lovebirds like them.

After pulling their car into their small driveway, they both get out of the car at the same time and check out their surroundings. They both are very happy to be here.

Tom looks over at Nadia and says "Well, we finally made it!" Nadia calmly shakes her head and says "Not yet."

Tom looks at her curiously as she starts walking to the front door. He then follows behind her as she opens the front door and walks in.

They both look satisfied with their place. They're now standing in their living room. There's a couple of couches and a recliner to their right, along with a television. They notice the bamboo floor immediately as well.

Nadia then walks ahead to the kitchen. There's a small breakfast bar in the middle and a dining table to the right. To the left is the kitchen itself: fridge, stove, cabinets and your usual kitchen fare.

Tom walks down the left hallway and sees the small bathroom on the right, with a tub and sink and toilet. To his left at the end of the hallway is their small bedroom. It looks like your typical bedroom with closets and a dresser. Their bed is a king-size bed with silk sheets.

Even in separate parts of the bungalow, Tom and Nadia both agree that the place is nice and cozy...and perfect.

As Tom looks around the bedroom a bit, he hears Nadia open the back patio door from the kitchen, then close it. Tom examines the drawers of their dresser a bit, and then the closet. Satisfied, he walks out of the bedroom and back out into the kitchen.

He examines the kitchen for a bit. Then, he walks up to the patio door and looks out at the ocean. He smiles wide at the sight of it, and then wider at the sight of Nadia standing on the shoreline.

Seeing as it's a really warm and nice day, Tom decides to take off his beach shirt, revealing a blue tank top underneath. He tosses the shirt on the kitchen table, opens up the patio door, and walks out.

As he steps out, he immediately notices Nadia looking back at him from a distance and smiling. And at that point, Tom freezes and looks worried as he realizes something.

It was one year ago almost to the day that Nadia stood at that very spot in a nightmare he had during his drunken bender over the coma she was put in after Sovogda. She was wearing that very green tank top and short white capri pants. Then, Tom looks down at his attire and remembers he was wearing the very blue tank top and white cargo shorts from his nightmare as well. The only thing that's different is the fact that it's not sunrise. (_Note: __This __was __the __dream __that __started __off __Chapter __21: __Crossing __Lines)_

Tom's thoughts are broken up by Nadia waving him over to join her. Tom snaps out of his momentary worry and gives her a wide smile and starts making his way across the beach to join the love of his life.

As he's walking, he looks to the left and right for any signs of Sloane or Vaughn, who made cameo appearances in his nightmare. They're not there...not that he really was expecting them to be or anything...

Meanwhile, Nadia turns back and looks back out at the ocean. The ocean is so calming for her, and she has flashbacks to her childhood when she'd go out to the ocean in Buenos Aires with the other orphans. She really enjoyed the ocean then, and she's really enjoying it now. Nadia then giggles a bit and looks down as the waves crash on her legs, interrupting her thoughts.

She looks back up at the ocean and brushes some of her long black hair that blew across her face behind her ear. She's also pleased at the gentle breeze that is coming off of the ocean as well.

Nadia continues to gaze out at the ocean until she's interrupted by a pair of arms being wrapped around her waist. She looks down and smiles wide, knowing that it's Tom's arms that are around her.

Tom gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek from behind and rests his chin on her left shoulder and starts gazing out at the ocean with her.

Tom immediately notices the same things Nadia noticed: the deep, blue ocean, the waves crashing on their legs and the gentle sea breeze coming off of the ocean.

They both continue to stare out together at the ocean for a while longer. They don't say anything. Nothing needs to be said. As they stand there, they both realize how right...how perfect this feels to the both of them. To top it off, Tom is happy to have Nadia in his arms, and Nadia is happy to be held in Tom's arms.

After about a minute or so, Nadia then looks back at Tom with a wide smile and says "Ok, now we've made it!" Tom smiles back and says "Yes, we have."

Nadia then looks back out at the ocean and, in a calm, yet convincing voice, says "Can't you see us waking up every morning to the sunrise coming up from the horizon...walking out to the beach...the sand in our toes...the sea air blowing on our faces...the water splashing up against our legs..." Tom then cuts her off. "...our child running along the shoreline, trying his or her best to avoid the waves..."

Nadia giggles a bit and says "Yes! Can't you see us living here year-round and raising our child in a nice, peaceful environment like this?" Tom rubs Nadia's belly a bit and says "I think I'm warming back up to that idea."

Tom then walks around Nadia and squats down and, happily talking to Nadia's belly, says "What do you think, little boy or girl? How would you like to live in San Felipe with mommy and daddy?" Nadia laughs and says "I think it's a little early for that! Our child is just a cell right now!"

Tom looks up at Nadia and says "Hey, cells have feelings, too!" Nadia laughs again and shakes her head as she grabs Tom's collar and pulls him up to a standing position.

Nadia looks deeply into Tom's eyes for a bit and says "I know it cost a lot for us to be here, in both time and lives, but I'm so happy to be here with you. Remember what you told me on your first day at APO? Here we are..." Then, at the same time, they both say "Right here, right now!" They both laugh a bit as they reminisce over the day they saw each other again for the first time in almost four years.

Then, Tom strokes some of Nadia's hair back behind her ears and softly says "I'm happy to be here with you, too. This day is a dream come true for me, from the baby announcement to the start of our vacation. You make me so happy..." Nadia gives him a kiss as he says that and softly says "You make me happy, too. I love you." Tom quickly replies "I love you, too...forever and ever, babe."

The two then kiss and start a make-out session. As they stand there absorbing each other's passion, the waves continue to crash on their legs and the sea breeze continues to blow in from the ocean. They hear a few sea gulls fly above them in the clear blue sky, followed by the never-ending sounds of the waves rolling in.

As they continue to make out, the bad memories of their lives wash away with the tide: Their childhoods, the Rambaldi fluid, Project Alloy and Torino, their struggles in APO, and the nearly year-long coma for Nadia and prison term for Tom. Every single one of those bad memories are now moot. All that matters to them right now is each other and the bliss they're in at the moment.

For the first time in both their lives, everything is perfect.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	35. Ch 34: Old Habits

**OLD HABITS**

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><p><em>Author Note: Ok, apparently long chapters are just going to be the norm now. Funny what happens when you have just a couple, small ideas for a chapter and just start typing.<em>

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><p><em><strong>San Felipe<strong>_

It's been four days into their vacation and Tom Falk and Nadia Santos are having a ball in San Felipe.

For the rest of their first day, they didn't do much besides settle in and walk up and down the beach outside of their bungalow.

The second day they checked out some of the shops and restaurants while they explored the downtown area. But, despite their cartel-funded wealth, they didn't really splurge on anything. In fact, outside of a couple basic t-shirts, they didn't buy anything at the stores.

They only ate at restaurants for their second day and took notes on the good and not-so-good places to eat. Oddly enough, their consensus favorite place so far is this small little place outside of town called "El Casa de los Peces" (The House of Fish) that serves fresh seafood. It wasn't in any tour guides they were given, but Nadia spotted it at random one day. They enjoyed the view of the ocean about as much as the food.

The third day was spent mostly fishing on a fishing boat in the Enchanted Islands south of town. In addition to getting some more sun, they both were able to hook enough fish to last them for the rest of their trip if they never went out again. For the first night since they arrived, they enjoyed dinner from the comfort of their own place, and they both agreed that was the most enjoyable meal since they arrived.

And now, on day 4, we catch back up with a tanner Tom and Nadia, still sleeping in their bed at their bungalow. As usual, Tom is on the right and Nadia is on the left. Tom is lying on his back while Nadia is actually lying on her side, with her head on Tom's outstretched right arm near his shoulder and her right arm resting on his hip.

Tom hears a seagull squawk right outside the window next to the bed. That forces him to wake up suddenly. He looks out the window, then back down at Nadia, who's still sleeping peacefully on his right arm.

Just like every morning, seeing Nadia lying next to him is still a joy for him. And he feels even better knowing the fact that she's having just as much fun on this trip as him. In fact, she even looks more relaxed and at peace than she's been since they reunited about a month ago.

He goes to reach over his left arm to stroke some of Nadia's hair back from her face, but when he moves his arm, he winces a bit in pain. For some reason, his arm hurts this morning.

Tom looks down at it and doesn't see any bruising. He bends it back and forth a bit and notices a little bit of sharp pain every time he bends his arm, followed by lesser, duller pain. He squeezes his fingers into a fist and notices some dull pain there as well.

He starts wondering why his arm is bothering him. After all, this is the one normal arm that he has after Project Alloy. He can't remember falling on it or anything. Whatever it is, it does feel like it's deep down and not towards the surface of the arm.

Then he remembers what he was doing yesterday...reeling in some very active and strong fish. He then decides to attribute the soreness and pain he's feeling to his active day yesterday.

He finds that he's able to deal with the soreness ok, so he reaches his left arm down and brushes some of Nadia's hair away from her face. As his hand grazes Nadia's face, we see her smile while her eyes remain closed.

Tom smiles back and sleepily says "I saw that..." Nadia lets out a sudden, quick giggle and, her eyes staying closed, sleepily says "Good morning, handsome." Tom gives Nadia a kiss on the forehead and says "Good morning, beautiful."

Nadia then decides to open up her brown eyes. Realizing where she is, she lifts her head up and scoots up a bit so she can see eye-to-eye with Tom. This gives Tom a chance to move his right arm out of the way. When he moves it, he immediately notes that his right arm feels just fine. He finds that a bit strange.

Nadia lies her head back down on the pillow and deeply looks into Tom's eyes. Tom, looking back at Nadia with a very content look on his face, breaks the silence by asking "Did you sleep ok?" Nadia thinks for a bit, then shakes her head. "No. I slept better than ok...I slept great! I wish you had this bed at our apartment!"

Tom smiles and says "Well, I'll tell you what, when we get back, we're investing in some silk sheets. I really like these!" Nadia then leans in and, while lightly touching the left side of his face with her hand, gives Tom kiss, then asks "And how did you sleep? I know I borrowed your right arm..."

Tom touches the right side of her face lightly from behind her head with his right arm and says "That's ok, my arm is your arm! You can borrow it whenever you like!" Nadia giggles a bit as Tom continues. "Anyway, I slept very well...like most nights with you by my side. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder why we even ask each other how we slept every morning...we both usually have the same answer!"

Nadia laughs a bit and says "It just shows we care!" Tom shrugs and says "Yeah, I guess it does. And I'll admit that I'm a little worried about how you sleep since you told me you're carrying our child. I just want to make sure the two most important people in my life are ok..."

Nadia reassuringly rubs Tom's left side and says "I'm fine, and I'm sure our little cell of a child is fine. Besides, I'm not even close to showing yet! I'm told that'll come two or three months from now." Nadia then looks down and starts rubbing her belly a bit. She facetiously says "I'm going to get so fat!" Tom reassuringly smiles and says "At least it's for a good cause!"

Nadia looks back up and says "No, it's for the best cause! Besides, I'm sure you and Sydney will help get me back in shape!" Tom nods and says "Of course! I'll get you on my prison workout plan. I hope you enjoy push-ups..."

Nadia laughs and says "I think I'll pass! Sydney already said she'd get me on her workout plan...it might be a little more practical for a woman than prison exercise!" Tom rolls his eyes and says "Don't knock it until you try it...after all, it worked for me!"

Nadia then playfully sighs and, as she rubs Tom's chest a bit, says "Tom...what ever will I do with you?" Tom chuckles a bit and says "I can think of a few things I'd LIKE you to do to me..."

Nadia then gives Tom a playful slap on his leg and says "Now, now...play nice!" As he rubs his leg, Tom replies "I'm just happy I'm still able to play with you at all during your pregnancy!"

Nadia smiles and says "Yeah, the gynecologist says I'm a low-risk pregnancy. We can still make love for a little while!" Tom starts rubbing Nadia's hip gently and says "You know, I did look at the book that Sydney gave you, and it says that, sometimes, sex drives actually go UP during a woman's pregnancy while others go down."

Nadia shifts her body over to be closer to Tom and, with a playful smirk, says "Well, that would explain a lot, now wouldn't it?" Tom quickly replies "I thought it was just because you were happy to be on vacation, but now I see there's a scientific reason for your...active nature these past few days."

Nadia bites her bottom lip for a bit, then says "Being in love and on vacation with you helps, too! These past few days have been so wonderful..." With a smile, Tom cuts her off and says "And three days from now, we're going to be in the midst of the best day of our lives. I can't wait to see you walk down the aisle...you're going to be so beautiful!"

Nadia smiles wide and says "And you're going to look so handsome standing on the altar in your tuxedo! Oh, it's going to be so fantastic, I can't wait!" Tom laughs and gives a now-excited Nadia a kiss on the cheek. "I can't wait either, babe."

Nadia then rolls over on top of Tom and gives him a deep kiss. She then releases and, as she brushes some hair behind her right ear, asks a little afraid "Tom, are we ever going to get tired of each other?" Tom looks at her funny and asks "Why do you even ask that?"

Nadia shrugs as she rests her chin on Tom's chest and says "I mean...so many marriages end up in divorce, and I don't want to think about what our break-up would be like..." Tom cuts her off by putting his right hand gently on her left shoulder and says "Then don't! Because it's never going to happen! And you seem to forget that we have an advantage over every other married couple that's ever walked this earth...The Connection!"

Nadia inquisitively asks "Do you really think that's still working?" Tom nods and says "Hell yeah! I'm still as crazy about you as I was when we met in that Argentina cantina in 2001! If I'm ever away from you for any period of time, my heart almost pounds out of my chest when I see you again!"

A reassured Nadia smiles wide and says "You know...I do that too, actually! Thank goodness it's not just me then!" Tom shakes his head as he rubs Nadia's back a bit and says "Nadia, why would you ever doubt that our relationship won't last forever? The last two times we separated for long periods of time, I went to therapy, and then I went to prison over you! I don't even want to THINK about what I'd do if I lost you again..."

Nadia then puts a finger over Tom's mouth and playfully says "Then don't! Because as long as I'm all yours, you're all mine!" Nadia then gives Tom a couple kisses, then rolls back over and sits on the edge of the bed.

Tom props up his head on his right arm and says "I always like this part..." Nadia looks back over at him with a seductive smile and says "What, the part when I get dressed?"

Tom nods and says "Uh-huh..." Nadia then stands up in her nightgown and says "Well, you're just going to have to wait! Because we're going to have breakfast first!"

Tom lets out a disappointed sigh and looks down. "Dammit..." Nadia giggles and says "Look, when we get dressed for the day later, I'll let you watch. How about that?"

Tom then looks up and grudgingly says "Oh, I guess! So, what are we going to do today?" Nadia thinks for a bit, then says "Well, before we do anything, I want to go by myself to look for a place to buy a wedding dress. Then, there's one more restaurant we were going to check out, I thought we'd do lunch there."

Tom nods and says "That sounds good. Plus, I'm thinking we can take advantage of that outdoor patio tonight for our dinner. It's not supposed to be as windy tonight and should make for a nice, romantic evening." Nadia smiles wide and says "That sounds wonderful. Besides, we do need to eat up all that fish we caught yesterday!"

Tom shrugs and says "Well, keep in mind, after the wedding, we'll have everyone gather here, so I was thinking a fish fry was in order with all that grouper we have. It'll be gone, trust me." Nadia excitedly smiles and says "I'm so happy that we're going to have a decent turnout for our wedding! As the day gets closer and closer, I get more and more excited!"

Tom cracks a small smile and says "Me too! But, in the more immediate future, what's for breakfast?" Nadia laughs a bit and says "Well, the only thing we have here besides fish is eggs and toast and coffee...so, what do you think?"

Tom snickers a bit as he gets out of bed and says "Well, maybe we can start checking out the local grocery stores today." Nadia says "That's a good idea, especially if we want to make this town home!"

Tom walks up to Nadia and gives her a peck on the cheek. He then says "I'm starting to like that idea more and more every day. Maybe we should find some time while we're down here to look at homes."

Nadia grins and mischievously says "As usual, I'm one step ahead of you!"

Tom looks at her funny and asks "And just what have you been up to?" Nadia just walks out of the bedroom slowly and confidently and, as she walks away, says "It's a surprise!"

Tom just shakes his head in amazement. He mumbles "That woman sure likes her surprises..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Downtown San Felipe<strong>_

After returning from her wedding dress prospecting trip, Nadia has since picked Tom back up from their bungalow and they're now walking down the sidewalk in downtown San Felipe. They each have their arms around each other as they walk through town on yet another sunny and warm day.

Both Tom and Nadia are dressed very casually in typical summer attire, with Tom carrying his backpack on his left shoulder and both Tom and Nadia carrying their pistols concealed in the back of their shorts. They're actually starting to wonder why they even have them because they've found San Felipe to be very quiet and safe.

As they pass by various shops to their left, Tom finds something that catches his eye.

In the jewelry store window, he sees this absolutely stunning diamond heart pendant necklace. It has a very noticeable heart-shaped diamond in the middle surrounded by two rows of smaller diamonds in a heart shape.

As they walk by the place, Tom thinks _"This would look great on Nadia..."_

However, he doesn't stop walking with Nadia and only gets to view it for about 5 seconds or so. But, the seed has definitely been planted.

A couple doors down, they reach the open-air restaurant called the BajaMar Restaurant and Taco Factory.

As they walk in under the tropical canopy that is over the restaurant, Tom says "Well, if a place calls itself the 'Taco Factory', they better have some good tacos!" Nadia smirks and says "When I was out and about this morning, I talked to a local and she said their fish tacos are fantastic!"

The two then stop in the front of the restaurant and look for someone to seat them. To their left, a bartender tells them "You two can sit anywhere. I'll let them know you're here."

Tom gives the bartender a bit of a wave and then starts looking around. There's no one there except for one lone guy sitting at the bar. Tom sighs and says "So few choices..." Nadia looks up and cuts him off. "The service will be quick at least!"

Tom looks down and says "In a hurry?" Nadia shrugs and says "Well, we won't be kicked out quickly either, so there's another benefit!"

Nadia then looks forward and spots a two-person table at the far end of the restaurant that overlooks the beach. She points and asks "Tom, how about that table on the far end, overlooking the ocean?" Tom nods and says "Good eye. Go sit, I'll get us our drinks."

Nadia intently says "Remember, you promised you wouldn't drink alcohol! I can't drink because of the pregnancy..." Tom smiles and says "Nah, I wouldn't do that to you. I'll just get us some Cokes."

Nadia smiles back and says "Ok!" Nadia then walks over to the table while Tom wanders over to the bar.

Tom stands a couple seats down from the other guy at the bar and tells the bartender "Two cokes, please." The bartender nods and starts getting their sodas.

Then, Tom hears the other guy at the bar speak. "357 Magnum?" Tom looks over and sees the man is looking at Tom's back from the side, probably at the imprint of a gun under his shirt. Tom then looks down and sees the man has a gun holstered on his left hip. He immediately recognizes it. "Police-issue Beretta?"

The man, who is of latino decent, in his late 30's, and looks very solidly built, smirks and says "I see you're familiar with firearms, gringo." Tom smirks back and says "Glad to be in good company then."

The man reaches out his hand for a handshake. "Jaime Molina, Assistant Chief, San Felipe Police Department." Tom shakes his hand and says "Tom Falk, unemployed."

Jaime's raises an eyebrow after Tom introduces himself. "Why is that name familiar to me?" Tom turns away and plainly says "I used to do some work in Mexico in the 90's..."

Jaime then slaps his hand on the table and says "Anti-Cartel! You're Halcón Diablo!" Tom turns to him really quickly with a look of shock and says "How the hell do you know that nickname?"

Jaime chuckles and says "Relax! I used to be Tijuana PD, I'm very familiar with your work there. Your reputation precedes you!" Tom slowly nods and, now a little reassured, says "Right...so, what brought you down here to sleepy San Felipe?"

The bartender gives Tom his two glasses of soda as Jaime says "The desire to live! You know as well as I do that if you live long enough to retire as a Tijuana cop, you're either God or the luckiest man on earth!" Tom chuckles a bit and says "Yeah, tell me about it. So, you worked your way to Assistant Chief here?"

Jaime dismissively shrugs and says "Wasn't hard. I've been down here for 6 years since I started in investigations. At the time I started, the police department was unorganized and the local police wouldn't know a heroin lab from a chemistry set." Tom chuckles a bit and says "I can't imagine police offers in San Felipe really needing to be hardcore...in the few days me and my fiancee have been here, we feel safe walking the streets."

Jaime smirks and says "Things have gotten better since I took the assistant chief post. About 95% of the crime in town is petty stuff...purse snatchers, domestic assaults...that sort of thing. But, every once in a while, we find people with ties to cartels down here, trying to take advantage of this quiet town to do their business." Tom inquisitively asks "Isn't San Felipe a little too far south and a little too small for banditos from Tijuana or Mexicali to bother with?"

Jaime says "Mostly. But you probably know that cartels are always looking to expand, and they've been a bit of a pain around here lately. And of course, I'm still dealing with the challenges of just keeping on top of my own squad, much less the criminal activity." Tom then asks "Who's your chief?"

Jaime replies "Oh, this old hand named Felipe Suarez. He doesn't do much anymore besides surf the internet in his office all day, just trying to make it so he can get vested for retirement. I run the show for the most part." Tom nods and say "I see."

Jaime then asks "So, what brings you down here?" Tom looks past Jaime's shoulder at Nadia and says "Marriage, vacation, and home prospecting."

Jaime looks over at Nadia, who looks like she's sitting patiently watching the ocean and people having fun on the beach. Jaime then says "She's beautiful, man. Congrats." Tom smiles and says "Thanks. Plus, Nadia's even more beautiful now that she's carrying my first born."

Jaime looks over and says "Really? How far along?" Tom shrugs and says "Only three weeks. I just found out myself a few days ago."

Jaime then leans forward and says "You say you're home prospecting? You thinking of moving down here?" Tom nods and says "Yeah, I've always had this dream of coming down here with the woman I love and raising children in this nice, quiet beach town. And I think that dream's going to happen."

Jaime nods and says "I love it down here, man. Despite my gripes with the cartels and my own squad, it's actually very quiet. Makes it very easy to do my job." Tom smiles and says "I used to be a cop myself before I joined the Anti-Cartel. I respect what you do."

Jaime looks like a lightbulb just went off his head. After thinking a bit, he then says "You told me you're unemployed. You know, if you do move down here, I'd love to have you come aboard our investigation team." Tom laughs and says "You guys would take a gringo fresh from the States?"

Jaime laughs himself and says "Come on, man! You've spent your fair share of time down this way. You know how Mexico works. We could use a guy with your tenacity." Tom smirks, then looks down. "I'm afraid, Jaime, that I'm not looking for full-time work. I have a lot saved up and I want to be there for Nadia and my child."

Jaime holds up his hands and says "You set the hours. You can work as much or as little as you want. But, knowing your reputation, I say you'd get more done in 15 to 20 hours a week than most of the yokels on my staff do in 40 or 50."

Now, Tom looks intrigued. As he mulls over Jaime's offer, Jaime then says "Plus, you join us, and I'll expedite your and your wife's Mexican citizen papers. Normally, you need to live here for 5 years, but we'll push it through and you'll be citizens in a couple months, tops." Tom nods and says "That might be helpful if we want to buy property on the coast. I hear you can't buy coastal property if you're a non-resident."

Jaime shakes his head and says "They have ways around that nowadays. You have to go through an escrow process with a bank, but it's not hard to buy coastal property if you're a gringo. Just takes a bit of time." Tom gives Jaime a satisfied nod and says "You've given me a lot to think about here..."

Tom then is distracted by a somewhat peeved Nadia holding up her arms and mouthing to him "What are you doing?" Tom smirks, then looks back at Jaime. "I think Nadia's getting a little lonely, I better go back to her. Do you have a card?" Jaime nods and reaches into his jeans pocket and hands Tom a business card. "Give me a call anytime. I'd really like to have you on the force. Just having you on the team might scare some cartel members away!"

Tom laughs a bit as he shakes Jaime's hand and says "Nice to meet you, Jaime. We'll be in touch." Jaime nods and then goes back to his drink.

Tom walks over to their table with their sodas and sits down across from Nadia. As Tom hands Nadia her drink, she curiously asks "What was that about?" Tom and says "Well, Nadia, that..." Tom takes a sip off his soda, then says "...was a job opportunity."

Nadia raises her eyebrows and says "Really? Doing what?" Tom replies "Investigator for the San Felipe Police Department. That's the assistant chief at the bar. He knows me from my work in Tijuana in the past."

Nadia looks out at the ocean and asks "I thought you were going to look for something part time..." Tom cuts her off and says "I'd be in control of when I'd work. It still can be part-time if I wanted. Probably wouldn't pay great, but it would give us day-to-day expenses to live on for groceries and such."

Nadia looks back at Tom and smirks. "I never thought I'd be married to a police officer!" Tom chuckles a bit, then realizes something and now looks troubled. "Oh, that's right. You had a few bad encounters with Argentinian cops in your teen years. Maybe I should..."

Nadia leans across and grabs Tom's left hand with her right, cutting him off. She says "Tom, I was wild and reckless back then...you wouldn't have even recognized me if you had met me then. I earned what happened to me." Tom shakes his head as he puts his right hand on Nadia's outstretched hand. "Nadia, grown men should never assault a woman like the way they did."

Nadia looks down and says "That's just the way it goes down there. But, I don't resent police officers...at least, not the good ones." Nadia then looks up and smiles. "I think this opportunity would be perfect for you." Tom smiles back and says "Well, if you're ok with it..."

Nadia giggles and says "I am. You'd be good at it...and your job would probably easy with how laid-back this town is!" Tom quickly responds "Plus, I'll be able to be there for you and our kid. That's the most important thing."

Nadia smiles wide at Tom as a waitress comes up to them. "Hi, welcome to the BajaMar Restaurant and Taco Factory. I'm Eva and I'll be your server today. Our specials are our fish taco lunch platter for..." Tom cuts her off and says "Say no more, I'll have that." Nadia nods and says "Me too! I'm told the fish tacos here are great!"

Eva giggles as she writes down the order on her pad and says "You heard right! I'll be back in just a bit with your order!"

* * *

><p>About 30 minutes later, Tom and Nadia finish up their meal. Both look like they're satisfied with it. Tom then pulls out a notepad from his shirt pocket, which has the names of various restaurants on it. "Ok, Nadia...where are we ranking this place?" Nadia quickly says "Oh, the best!"<p>

Tom looks at her and says "Really? You like this better than El Casa de los Peces?" Nadia nods and says "Yeah! I thought the tacos were excellent, the sides were great, the service was great...and the view of the ocean was much better! Plus, I like the openness of it! And no, I'm not talking about the lack of customers, either! This place just has a good vibe to it."

Tom writes a note down and says "Well, looks like we did save the best for last. Plus, if we hadn't gone here, I might not have met the assistant police chief and found a job opportunity! Funny how the most random encounters can change our lives..." Nadia laughs and says "No kidding, right? I almost missed out on the mission in Argentina that we met!"

Tom looks up at her and says "Really?" Nadia nods. "They wanted to send another pair out to help you guys, but something came up with them and they sent us instead!"

Tom raises his eyebrows and says "Wow...how different might things have been..." Nadia then stands up and pats Tom on the hand. "I'm happy things worked out the way they did."

Tom then asks "Where are you going?" Nadia just smiles and says "Don't worry, I'll be right back!"

Nadia then walks off to the restroom.

Tom, now seeing an opportunity, stands up quickly, grabs his backpack and walks toward the entrance of the restaurant. He looks at the bartender and says "I'll be right back, just going next door." The bartender nods, not too worried about Tom leaving since Nadia was still there.

Tom walks out of the restaurant and goes to the jewelry store that he passed on the way to the restaurant.

He walks in and walks up to the counter quickly. The male clerk behind the counter smiles and asks "Can I help you with something?" Tom quickly asks "Yeah, that heart-shaped diamond necklace in the window...can I see it?"

The clerk nods and walks over to the display and grabs the necklace. He walks back and, as he shows Tom the necklace, says "The diamond in the middle is a very good cut, and the diamonds surrounding it total 1.2 carats. They sit on 14 carat white gold. It's quite the stunning piece." Tom examines the necklace and starts running his fingers on it. He looks back up and asks "Are these diamonds the real deal?"

The clerk nods and says "Of course. Every necklace we sell comes with a certificate of authenticity." Tom then blows on the large diamond in the middle and notices it doesn't get foggy, a sign that it's real. Tom nods, apparently satisfied. "Ok, how much is this?"

The clerk replies "Twenty-thousand." Tom snaps his head up quickly and worriedly asks "American?"

The clerk laughs and says "No, twenty-thousand pesos." Tom breathes a sigh of relief and says "Ok, so about $1500 American...I'll take it."

The clerk sets the necklace down on the glass display case, then asks "I'll take your credit card, please." Tom then sets his backpack on the case and asks "Do you take cash?"

The clerk looks at Tom a little surprised and says "Of course..." Tom reaches into his backpack and pulls out a bundle of pesos. He counts out the money needed and hands the wad to the clerk.

The clerk, surprised at the prospect of a cash transaction, says "Ok, let me ring you up and get you a bag and a box."

As the clerk walks away with the necklace, Tom looks out the store nervously, hoping that Nadia hasn't returned to their table and is wondering where he is.

A few seconds later, the clerk reemerges from the back with a bag. He hands the bag to Tom and says "Your receipt and necklace are in the bag. Thank you for your purchase. Your lady will be very happy!" Tom smirks and says "I just bought her a 15-hundred dollar necklace, she better be! Thanks!"

Tom then quickly walks out of the store with his backpack and bag and walks down the block to his car, which is parked on the street.

He takes out his keys and opens the trunk and immediately spots a large, white bag with a large box in it. Tom looks in the bag and sees it's from a local department store. He also notices the bag has a box of shoes in it. He then looks back at the restaurant and asks "Nadia, what have you been up to?"

Tom, seeing as he shouldn't be wasting time, then lifts up on the floor of the trunk where his spare tire is and sets the bag with the necklace next to the tire. He then closes the trunk and heads back to the restaurant.

Tom walks back into the restaurant and sees Nadia has not returned yet. He gives the bartender a wave as he quickly walks back to the table and sits down...

...and not two seconds after he sits back down, Nadia re-emerges from the restroom. Tom just smiles at her, trying to play like he didn't leave the table to go shopping for an expensive necklace just now. Nadia smiles back and says "Ok, are you ready?" Tom shrugs and says "Sure, where to next?"

Nadia smiles even wider and says "That's a surprise!" Tom rolls his eyes as he stands back up and says "You and your surprises!"

Nadia replies "You'll like it! Trust me!" Tom playfully sighs as walks over and pays the bartender for their meal, then they leave the restaurant on the way to Nadia's surprise.

* * *

><p>About 10 minutes later, Nadia parks their car across the street from a large, one story house in a gated community. The house is light yellow in color and has a very southwesternMexican look to it. Nadia then looks over at Tom and asks "Ok, here's your surprise!"

Tom looks over at Nadia and asks "What are we doing here?" Nadia looks over at the house and smirks. "That house across the street is for sale."

Tom nods and says "I kind of guessed from the big 'for sale' sign on the lawn." Nadia, ignoring his sarcasm, says "I came by earlier and checked it out. I loved it so much, I wanted you to see it!"

Tom looks at Nadia funny and asks "Have you gone crazy?" Nadia wonderingly asks "What?" Tom rolls his eyes and says "What happened to a small little bungalow on the beach? Why do we need this big ol' place?"

Nadia looks back out of the window, not saying anything at first. A car drives by then and goes down the street, out of view. When Nadia sees that there's no one around, she looks back over at Tom and says "When you walk inside of it, you'll understand. Let's go."

Before Tom can respond, Nadia opens the driver's door and gets out of the car. Tom follows suit by getting out of the car himself.

Tom walks over to Nadia and they walk across the street together. As they walk, Tom asks "Is the realtor waiting for us?" Nadia shakes her head and says "Nope!"

Tom suddenly stops in his tracks and says "Whoa, wait a sec!" Nadia looks back and says "Come on, keep walking! Be casual!" Tom now realizes that they're going to have to break in to this place, but seeing there's no stopping Nadia, he follows her around to the side of the house.

Nadia walks up to a side door and stops, allowing Tom to catch up. Tom quietly asks "What the hell are we doing? Breaking and entering?" Nadia smirks and quietly responds "I came by here earlier and jimmied the door open. We can just walk in!"

Tom's jaw drops a bit. Still quiet, he asks "Nadia, this is the SECOND time you've trespassed on this place today?" Nadia lightly giggles and says "You forgot who you're marrying! I'm an expert at getting in and out of places undetected!"

Nadia then reaches into her back pocket and tosses some latex gloves to Tom and keeps a pair for herself. As she's putting her gloves on, she whispers to Tom "Put yours on. We don't want to leave fingerprints!" Tom dumbfoundedly puts his gloves on and says "That's the best idea you've had in the last 5 minutes." Then, he rolls his eyes. Nadia giggles a bit, but doesn't say anything.

As he puts his gloves on, he whispers "Why can't we just do this like normal people and call the realtor for a showing?" Nadia replies "Because she's out of town and won't be back until after we leave. I saw this place on the internet before we left and I wanted to see it before we headed back north. You'll love it, trust me!"

Tom snickers and says "Wait until your sister hears you had to resort to your old habits in Argentina just to look at a home." Nadia smirks and intently says "She doesn't need to know! Now shut up and follow me in!"

Tom just shakes his head as Nadia opens the door. Tom then follows her in.

Tom immediately notices he's in the kitchen. In front of him, he sees a wooded breakfast bar that partially wraps around the open kitchen, with very nice looking appliances. To his left is the dining area with a nice, mahogany table. He also sees a nice view of the ocean out the windows. The flooring is also solid hardwood. The whole kitchen has a very western/desert look to it.

Nadia walks ahead and turns to Tom with a wide smile on her face. "What do you think?" Tom nods and says "It looks pretty nice so far."

Nadia then says "Follow me, I'll show you the rest of the place." Tom follows Nadia across the kitchen and down a hallway to the right.

As they walk on the now-carpeted floor, they pass by the three smaller, empty bedrooms in the house, along with the guest bathroom. Everything looks pretty standard issue for Tom. They then walk into the master bedroom and Tom immediately notes how big it is. Nadia says "Imagine what we can do with this!" Tom laughs and says "Yeah, no kidding!"

Tom then walks over and opens a door to their master bathroom. Tom notes how nice it is, and then closes the door. He looks around for a little bit and says "I like this place, but it's really a lot of house for us."

Nadia then motions with her index finger for Tom to follow her. Tom follows Nadia down the hallway and back out into the kitchen. Instead of going into the kitchen, they turn right and go to the living room.

Tom notices immediately that the living room is large and fully furnished and keeps with the kitchen's western/desert feel. He looks around and likes what he sees, but isn't overly wowed until he looks left and sees the patio door to the back porch.

He slowly strolls over to the patio door and looks out. He sees a nice, finished covered porch with a tiled floor. And then, just 20 feet beyond the patio is the ocean itself.

Tom smiles as he looks out at the ocean. He notes a few seagulls that are standing along the shoreline, the waves that slowly roll in, and just the overall splendor of the ocean.

Nadia walks over next to Tom and says "I knew you'd like this part." Tom nods and says "Yeah! The ocean is right there, and I love the patio!"

Nadia puts her hand on Tom's back and says "I know! That's what made me fall in love with this place! We'll spend so much time on this patio!" Tom looks down at her and says "I noticed that you just spoke in future tense, like it's going to happen. Shouldn't we check out other places first?"

Nadia shakes her head and says "No. I drove by some other places, but this one just felt right." Tom then looks back down the hallway. "What are we going to do with four bedrooms?"

Nadia looks back up at Tom and says "Well, one of them can be a computer room or office and another can be a nursery for our baby. And the third can be a guest bedroom for when Sydney or one of your friends come down." Tom nods and goes back to looking out at the ocean.

He starts imagining spending his days with Nadia watching the ocean. Then, he imagines swimming in that very ocean. He smiles when he imagines his son or daughter doing the same things. Nadia is right...this place does feel right for him.

Tom looks at Nadia and asks "How much are they asking for this place?" Nadia replies "$200,000, but we can probably get it for less."

Tom raises his eyebrows. "$200k for this place? That's...really cheap, actually" Tom then sighs. "But, it's more than I had budgeted for our home." Nadia holds Tom's hand gently and says "Tom, we can afford it."

Tom shakes his head and says "Nadia, I've never lived in a big place before, and I don't think you have either. Really, we can get by..." Nadia shakes her head and cuts him off. "I don't want to just 'get by' with a small place! I want our home to be special, don't you? Our guests will love the back patio. Plus, think about how our child is going to enjoy growing up here! There's lots of room to run around and the ocean is right here...Tom, it's perfect for us!"

Tom starts thinking about the money he has. $200,000 for a home would take a pretty good chunk out of his legit money, which is what he'd use on such a big purchase like this to avoid any legal ramifications over using cartel money. But, it would be their home, and Tom did feel the same sense of specialness when it came to this place, especially when he saw the back patio.

Tom looks back at Nadia and asks "You really want this place, huh?" Nadia squeezes Tom's hand as she says "I do. Don't you?"

Tom thinks about that question for a bit, then nods his head. "Yeah...we're home." Nadia shouts "Yes!" and leaps into Tom's arms in an embrace. Tom smiles as he hugs her and says "I'll call the realtor when we get back to LA and make an offer."

Nadia, as she keeps hugging Tom, says "Thank you so much!" Tom says "No, thank you. This home isn't possible without you."

Nadia releases the hug and gives Tom a kiss. When she's done, she gives Tom a touched smile and says "Now, aren't you happy you saw this place?" Tom rolls his eyes and says "Yes! Now, we have to figure out how we're going to get out!" Nadia smirks and says "Follow me."

Nadia walks over to the side door in the kitchen they walked in and opens it. Tom follows her and, when he arrives, Nadia says "Ok, hold hands like we're just casually going for a stroll. Let's go."

Tom and Nadia walk out together and take off their latex gloves. They then hold each other's hands as they nonchalantly walk across the front yard, then start to walk across the street.

As they walk toward their car, they both look down at each other and laugh at their illogical act of breaking into the place they're going to call home...and getting away with it.

They then get into the car and drive off. No one ever saw them.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Bungalow<strong>_

It's nighttime now, and Tom stands over the stove in the kitchen, putting the final touches on their fish dinner. Tom's cooking is still dubious in general, but one thing he can cook is fish. He cooked a lot of fish that he'd catch in a lake down the road from his home in Missouri growing up.

Nadia, meanwhile, is back in their bedroom. She had told him before he started cooking that she had another surprise for him. Tom guessed this was whatever was in that bag in the trunk he had seen earlier and was anxious to see what Nadia had conjured up.

Now that the fish are done, he sets them on two plates next to their respective baked potatoes. As he does, he hears Nadia shout from the bedroom "Ok, are you ready?" Tom shouts "Yeah, dinner's ready!"

Tom hears the door open to their bedroom. He quickly walks left and looks down the hallway...and completely becomes awestruck at what he's seeing:

Nadia leaning on the doorway in a tight red cocktail dress.

Tom's completely speechless at Nadia's beauty. The dress shows off all her curves. She's got her hair all done, with much of it cascading down her right shoulder. She put on some ruby-red lipstick and her lips really stand out. Tom looks down her legs and notices she even has red high-heels on to complete the outfit.

Nadia smiles at her man's amazement and asks "Well, what do you think?" Nadia then spins around, which causes Tom to let out a lustful sigh. Finally, he's able to muster a "Wow..."

Nadia giggles at him, then slowly walks down the hallway towards him. "I guess you like it then!" Tom shakes his head and says "Like is a massive understatement. Sexy is also an understatement. In fact, I don't think they've come up with the word to describe how drop dead gorgeous you are right now!"

Nadia gives Tom a flattered smile as she puts her arms around Tom's neck and says "The look on your face made this outfit worth every penny!" Tom puts his hands on her hips and asks "How much did it cost?"

Nadia gives Tom a seductive smile and says "Who cares?" Nadia then leans up and gives Tom a tender kiss, then releases. Tom smiles wide himself and says "Nadia, just when I thought you couldn't be more awesome..."

Nadia quickly says "Well, I was going to wait until later in our vacation to break this out, maybe on our wedding night. But you made me very happy today, agreeing to buy that house for us. Everything is coming together for us...our child is on the way, our wedding is in a couple days, and we now know where we're going to be for the rest of our lives! You're making my dreams come true!" Tom smiles back and says "And you in this dress is making some dreams come true for me!"

Nadia giggles as Tom steps back a bit to examine her, and then all of the sudden shakes his head when he reaches her neck. "Wait, it's missing something..." Nadia looks at him a little confused and asks "What?"

Tom looks at Nadia's face and smiles wide. "It's my turn for surprises, babe, and I have one for you!" Nadia's face lights up and says "You do? What is it?"

Tom smirks and says "Close your eyes, babe." Nadia smiles and closes her eyes tightly, awaiting Tom's surprise.

Tom then reaches into his pocket and pulls out the diamond heart pendant necklace he bought earlier.

Tom grabs each end of the necklace and reaches around Nadia's neck to put it on. The cool pendant hits Nadia's chest and she lets out a small gasp when it does, recognizing what it might be.

Tom then cranes his neck around the back of Nadia's to close up the necklace. He then lets go and lets the necklace sit on Nadia's neck. Tom then says "Ok, open your eyes!"

Nadia opens her eyes and looks down quickly to see the pendant on her chest. She lets out a loud gasp, then walks quickly over to the bathroom. Tom smirks at her reaction and follows after her.

Nadia walks into the bathroom and stands looking at the necklace in the mirror. Tom eventually joins her and, as he puts his arm around her waist, asks "Do you like it?" Nadia, still in awe over the pendant, says "Tom, it's beautiful!"

Tom gives Nadia a kiss on her neck and says "Do you know why I got that particular necklace for you?" Nadia shakes her head and replies "No...this must have cost a fortune!"

Tom smiles and says "I bought it because now...you'll always have my heart." Nadia quickly forms a touched expression on her face and turns to Tom with that same look. "Tom...I don't know what to say..."

Tom puts his hands on Nadia's bare shoulders and calmly says "You don't have to say anything at all...your look is telling me for you." Nadia then puts both hands behind Tom's head and pulls him in for a few nice, tender kisses.

When they're done, Nadia says "I love you so much! You're the best!" Tom quickly replies "No, you are. You're the one that's carrying our child. And now, more than ever, I live for your happiness, and I love you more than you'll ever know."

Nadia and Tom continue to stare longingly in each other's eyes for a little while. Finally, Nadia realizes something. "Hey, our dinner is getting cold!" Tom raises his eyebrows and says "Oh, right! Let's eat!"

Tom then follows Nadia out so they can enjoy their dinner.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, we catch back up to Tom and Nadia, who are now lying on a hammock that is stringed between two trees.<p>

Nadia, still in her cocktail dress, lies on top of Tom and has her head a little off to the right, resting next to Tom's head and much of her hair draped over on Tom's chest. Tom, meanwhile, has his arms wrapped around Nadia's waist as they both stare at the stars.

Nadia breaks the silence by saying "Thanks for dinner, Tom. You did great." Tom smiles and says "No problem. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Nadia then looks down at her pendant that Tom bought for her. "Speaking of enjoying...Tom, this necklace is so beautiful..." Tom rubs her belly a bit and says "And so are you tonight. You really set a new bar for yourself. That dress plus that necklace...you look absolutely stunning tonight."

Nadia giggles a bit and says "Thank you! I like making you speechless!" Tom laughs and says "Yeah, you really shocked me tonight! Was that dress in that box you had in the trunk earlier today?"

Nadia looks over at Tom quickly and says "You saw it? When?" Tom smirks and says "After I bought your necklace, I put it in the trunk in the wheel well and I noticed the box. Don't worry, I didn't ruin your surprise by looking in it. But, what made you decide to buy that dress?"

Nadia looks back down and starts gently caressing Tom's arms that are wrapped around her. "I wanted to impress you while I still can! I wanted to enjoy wearing something like that before our child starts really growing and I turn into a balloon!" Tom gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek and says "You're still going to be beautiful. And like I said before, I'll be there for you every step of the way...mommy."

Nadia laughs at the word 'mommy' and gives Tom a quick kiss on the lips. She then turns and goes back to looking at the stars. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. I've just been waiting for the right moment..." Tom sighs and says "What, when I'm relaxed and pinned underneath you? Oh boy..."

Nadia giggles and says "No! It's nothing bad! It's just..." Nadia then looks over at Tom and says "I'm taking your last name when we marry." Tom raises his eyebrows at that. "Nadia Falk...you sure about that?"

Nadia replies "Yeah, I am. I know 'Santos' was just some name that Elena gave me at the orphanage. It means nothing to me or anyone. It would be so nice to have a last name that means something to someone." Tom smiles back at her and says "I'd be honored to have you take my last name. And it'd mean something to me at least!"

Nadia gives him a quick kiss and says "That makes it worth it to me!" Tom cracks a smile and says "I'm sure Sydney and Mike Walcott will be interested to hear this news when they show up tomorrow."

Nadia looks back up and says "Yeah, Sydney said she'd get here early with Vaughn. When was Mike showing up again?" As he looks back up at the sky himself, Tom replies "Oh, in the afternoon. I thought he'd just come down with David and Lisa on Friday, but he said he wanted the extra day to hang out on the beach."

Nadia smiles and says "I can't blame him. I'm loving it down here!" Tom says "Me too. I'm glad this is going to be home for us."

The two continue to look up at the stars for a bit. Then, Nadia says "There's so many stars out here, isn't there?" Tom looks up himself and says "Yeah. That's one thing I missed when I started living in urban areas...the stars."

Nadia smiles and says "Every time I look up at the stars, I think about the nights me and my friend Julieta would go on the roof of our orphanage and watch the stars. We would both try to count all the stars in the sky. But, every time we did, we'd fall asleep before we could finish, and we'd have to be carried to bed every night!" Tom starts laughing, then says "You know, it's funny how our lives seem to parallel each other, even though we both grew up so far away!"

Nadia looks over and asks "What do you mean?" Tom looks over and replies "When I was young, me and my brother Eddie would often lie on the back of my grandpa's pickup and look up at the stars. To us, the stars reminded us that there was this big world beyond our middle of nowhere town. We'd always dream of what the both of us would be growing up and where we would be living. And yeah, more often than not, we'd fall asleep and have to be carried in ourselves!"

Nadia laughs as she turns and goes back to star watching. Tom then looks back up and asks "So, you think you can count all the stars out here?" Nadia laughs and says "No way! There's so much more of them out here and there's not any taller buildings or trees blocking my view!"

Tom looks back and says "You really don't think you can do it?" Nadia looks back and playfully asks "Is that a dare?"

Tom smirks and says "Let's keep our heads still, just looking up at the stars we see looking straight up. And let's see if we can count each one of them." Nadia smirks back and says "You're on!"

The two would turn their heads back up to the sky and start counting.

But, there were too many stars. They both dozed off on the hammock before either one could finish.

They would stay on that very hammock for the rest of the night.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	36. Ch 35: Last Minute Addition

**LAST MINUTE ADDITION**

* * *

><p><em><strong>San Felipe<strong>_

The sun has risen in the sea, just barely enough for the entire orange ball to clear the water. It's the start of yet another beautiful, mild, cloudless day in San Felipe.

Tom Falk and Nadia Santos continue to sleep peacefully in their hammock from the night before. Neither one of them woke up all night. Tom's arms remained wrapped around Nadia's waist, and their foreheads are now touching as they face each other and continue to be sound asleep on their hammock and pillow.

Little did they know, they were about to have company.

In their car, Michael Vaughn drives down the small coastal road leading up to their apartment, with Sydney Bristow in the passenger's seat and Isabelle sleeping in the car seat in the back.

They pull up to the end of the road and pull into the driveway next to Tom and Nadia's car. They both get out of their car, both dressed casually and comfortably. Sydney opens the back passenger's door and pulls out a sleepy Isabelle.

Sydney gently lies Isabelle on her shoulder and walks up to the front door of the bungalow with Vaughn as he knocks on the door. Vaughn looks over and asks "Are you sure we're not too early? They're probably still asleep." Sydney shakes her head and says "Nah, Nadia would always wake up before I did when she lived with me. She's probably up by now."

After a few seconds, no one answers the door. This confuses both Vaughn and Sydney a bit.

Vaughn then starts walking around to the right side of the house. When he clears the house, he looks out back and sees Tom and Nadia lying in the hammock. With a smirk, he looks back at Sydney and says "Found them!"

Sydney walks over and notices Tom and Nadia in the hammock, then looks back at Vaughn. "They must have been there all night..." Vaughn shrugs and says "Must have...that red cocktail dress Nadia's wearing does seem a little extreme for watching a sunrise..."

Sydney and Vaughn then make their way over to the hammock and see Tom and Nadia both completely passed out.

Sydney looks over at Vaughn and whispers "How are we going to wake them?" Vaughn looks less than enthused about doing that and whispers back "Maybe we should come back later..."

All of the sudden, the quietness is broken when Isabelle starts crying.

This causes Tom and Nadia to suddenly spring awake. They both look up and see Vaughn and Sydney, holding a crying Isabelle, standing next to them.

Upon seeing them, Nadia lets out a quick "AHHHH!" and quickly scrambles off of the hammock, in complete shock and embarrassment that Sydney and Vaughn are not only there, but also that they caught them lying in a hammock in the clothes they were in last night.

However, Nadia's method of getting off the hammock causes it to flip suddenly. Tom lets out a yell himself and tries to grab the hammock to brace his fall, but to no avail. He falls off the hammock quickly and lands face-first in the sand.

Nadia quickly realizes what she did and says "OH NO! I'm so sorry!" Tom gets up to his knees and looks over at Nadia with sand all over his face, along with a somewhat irritated frown. He yells "Have you never slept in a hammock before? Geez, Nadia!"

Tom then grabs his left arm and winces a bit in pain. Sydney notices and asks "Tom, are you alright?" Nadia squats down next to Tom, who just brushes her off and says "I'm fine, this isn't from the fall. My arm's been bugging me the last couple days." Nadia shakes her head as she stands up and says "Tom, you never told me about your arm..."

Vaughn asks "What did you do to it?" Tom shakes his head as he stands up. "I don't know. But, we did go fishing the day before yesterday and some of the fish we caught were really aggressive, so maybe it's sore from that."

Nadia, still somewhat in shock, turns and asks "What are you two doing here so early?" As Sydney puts a pacifier in Isabelle's mouth to keep her from crying anymore, she says "We actually got into town last night. We wanted to surprise you!" Vaughn then asks "Were you two sleeping on that hammock all night?"

Tom looks at Nadia, then back at Vaughn. "Yeah, I guess we did. We got out here about 10 last night and we both passed out while watching stars." Sydney then beams and asks "Aren't the stars so nice out here? I noticed that last night, too!" Nadia smiles and says "Yeah they are, there's so many of them!"

Nadia and Sydney then give each other a one arm hug. Nadia says "It's good to see you, sis. Thanks for coming down." Sydney smiles and says "Absolutely! I wouldn't miss your wedding for the world!" The two release the hug and Sydney starts looking at Nadia's dress. With a smirk, she exclaims "Wow! That's quite the dress you have on!"

Nadia giggles, but before she can say anything, Sydney looks at her chest and gasps when she sees the heart-shaped diamond pendant. As she grabs the pendant to examine it, she asks "Nadia, where did you get this?" Nadia looks over at Tom and says "Tom bought it for me yesterday!"

Vaughn looks at the piece, then at Tom a little astonished. "This must have set you back a bit." Tom smirks and says "When Nadia opened her eyes and saw it on her neck last night, the look on her face made it worth every penny." Nadia then says "And when Tom saw me in my outfit not a minute or so before that, the look on HIS face made my outfit worth every penny!"

Sydney looks back up at Nadia and says "Well, look at you two high-rollers!" Nadia laughs and says "Well, we were both in a celebratory mood last night, right Tom?"

Nadia then looks over at Tom with a wide smile. Tom smirks back, then looks over at Sydney. "We picked out a house yesterday. Well, I should say...Nadia picked it, and then showed it to me later." Vaughn curiously asks "You two are buying the place sight unseen?"

Before Tom can spill the beans on Nadia's break-in, she quickly responds "It was an open house." Tom gives her a bit of an incredulous look. She looks back over at him with an unassuming look on her face. Tom then looks back at Vaughn with a poker face. "Yeah, that."

Sydney then asks "I'd kind of like to see it..." Tom cuts her off by quickly shaking his head and says "No, it was a one-day open house..." Tom then looks over at Nadia. "...right, babe?" Nadia just blankly replies "Right..."

Tom then looks back at Sydney. "It's 4 bedrooms, two baths, very spacious, and it's got the most excellent patio that overlooks the ocean. Oh, speaking of the ocean...it might be 15-20 feet from the house." Sydney smiles and says "Now I REALLY want to see it!" Nadia excitedly replies "You will! When we move in, you're invited to the housewarming party!"

Tom then looks at a pacified Isabelle, who's resting on Sydney's shoulder. He walks up to her and says "I'm quite surprised to see you in Mexico, little girl!" Isabelle smiles at Tom through her pacifier as he rubs her back a bit. As he does, Sydney sighs and says "Yeah, my babysitter wasn't available this weekend. But that's ok, babies need vacations, too!"

Nadia laughs as she walks up to Isabelle and, in a light, playful voice, says "Hi, I'm glad you came for my wedding, my little niece!" Isabelle smiles at Nadia, then excitedly shakes her arms and then buries her head in Sydney's shoulder, perhaps excited over the attention.

Tom then tells Sydney "I bet you two could use a cup of coffee right about now." Vaughn nods and says "Yeah, that's be great." Sydney smiles and says "Sure." Nadia, meanwhile, says "I better get a change of clothes, too!"

Tom shrugs and deadpans "Do you have to? I like that dress..." Nadia raises her eyebrows and intently says "YES! We have guests! I need to clean up as well...and so do you!" Tom gives Nadia a playful smirk and says "Ok...ok..."

Sydney then looks out at the sea and says "Tell you what...you two go get ready and me and Vaughn will be out here, watching the sunrise out on the patio!" Vaughn nods and says "That sounds fine to me. It's a pretty nice morning, too."

Tom nods and says "I'll get the coffee brewing!" As he starts to walk off, Nadia says "I'm so sorry you had to see us like this!" Sydney laughs and says "It's no problem! You two looked cute together in the hammock!" Vaughn then says "I told Sydney we shouldn't come so early..."

Tom laughs as he turns back to the three and says "Hey, how else could you have seen a grown man take a faceplant while falling off of a hammock?" Tom watches the three laugh softly a bit at that, then he turns and walks into his bungalow.

He looks down at his left arm and starts squeezing his left hand again, like the morning before. He noticed the day before that the pain in his arm would go away for a while, then come back, then go away again. Now, it's gone away again, but it's sure to be back.

He shakes his head and continues to wonder what the heck is going on with his arm. He's completely at a loss over what's going on with it.

As he postulates over what he could have done to it, he sees Nadia, Sydney, and Vaughn reach the patio door. He quickly snaps out of it and starts to get their coffee ready.

* * *

><p>A couple hours later, we catch back up with Tom, Nadia, Sydney, and Vaughn in the living room of the bungalow. They're sitting on the couches and are just shooting the breeze. Tom and Nadia have since changed into casual clothing from earlier.<p>

As she's feeding Isabelle, Sydney says "That necklace that Tom got you is amazing!" Vaughn, in mock irritation, says to Tom "Yeah, thanks for seeing the bar higher for me. I have to top that now!" As Sydney gives Vaughn a playful smirk, Tom replies "And then I'll have to top what you got and we'll eventually force each other into bankruptcy for trying to out-impress the women in our lives!"

Nadia, with a wide smile on her face, says "Tom said the most beautiful thing when he gave me the necklace, too! He told me that now, I'll always have his heart!" Sydney gives Tom a touched smile and says "That was sweet!" Tom smiles back as he puts an arm around Nadia. "It might have been a little cliché, but I meant every word of it. She truly does have my heart."

As Nadia gives him a thank you peck on the cheek, Vaughn asks "So, now that you're going to be living down here, any idea what you two will do for a living?" Nadia pats Tom on the thigh and says "Well, I'm going to be raising our child for the most part. Meanwhile, Tom actually got a job offer yesterday!"

Sydney opens her eyebrows and says "Really? Where?" Tom replies "Investigations for the San Felipe Police Department. I met the assistant chief yesterday and he remembers me from my work in Tijuana." Sydney goes to ask something, but is interrupted by a knock on the door.

Sydney asks "Who could that be?" Tom smirks and says "Probably my buddy Mike. He said he'd be in town today." Nadia then says "I thought you said he was coming in the afternoon?"

Tom sarcastically says "I thought you said Sydney and Vaughn were coming over later in the morning..." Nadia rolls her eyes as Tom gets up and opens the front door...

...and finds Arvin Sloane standing on his doorstep.

Nadia, Vaughn, and Sydney see Sloane standing at the doorway and quickly get to their feet. A now-incensed Tom says to Sloane "I thought you had balls coming over to my apartment last week, but I see I underestimated you! You have some grapefruits..." Sloane cuts him off by saying "I didn't come here for a fight. I'm here for the wedding."

Tom looks over at Nadia angrily and asks "Did you tell him where we'd be staying?" Nadia shakes her head as she walks over next to him and tersely asks "Father, what are you doing here? You weren't invited..." With a smile, Sloane says "I just wanted to watch the wedding...in peace."

Sloane then reaches into his pants pocket and tosses a small black box at Tom. Tom catches it and notices that one side has a magnet on it. Tom then looks up and, with a scowl, says "You tracked my car?" Sloane replies "I planted that device the day I visited you. That's how I found you just now."

Tom shakes his head angrily and winds his arm up to punch Sloane in the face, but Nadia grabs his arm and says "Tom, he's not worth it..." Tom looks at Nadia angrily, then turns and starts breathing heavily as he stares a hole into Sloane's face. Sloane then says "I also came down here to discuss those documents I gave you last week..."

Sydney says "You mean, his mother's diary." Sloane looks past Tom's shoulder at Sydney and says "Yes. I was hoping he could give me some insight into what his mother wrote."

Tom turns to Sydney and Vaughn and says "Stay inside, me and Nadia will handle this...inconvenience." Tom and Nadia walk out and close the front door. Finally, Tom looks at Sloane and says "You had a lot of freaking nerve to reveal that diary to me. You knew I'd be hurt over what was in it."

Sloane blankly replies "I found those documents to be troubling myself, especially when I got to her sacrifice for my daughter. Mary did a good job at keeping herself covert...she was never known as a player in the 70's and early 80's." Nadia asks "Who gave you the diary?"

Sloane says "I won't reveal my source, but I will say it was someone that had knowledge of her involvement in Prophet Five. I was assured they're real." Tom looks at Nadia, then back at Sloane. "I think the better question here is...why? Why do you really care so much about my mother?"

Sloane replies "Because I believe in knowing my enemy. She became my enemy when she lied to you about my intentions to kill you in prison." Tom cracks a defiant smirk and says "Yeah? Nothing in these documents tell me she was lying. If she saw the conversation you had, why would she keep it a secret from me?"

Sloane intently retorts "If she saw the conversation I had, why did she wait to long to tell you?" Tom replies "Because she had other things on her plate...like helping Irina Derevko locate the Horizon."

Sloane blankly says "For 10 months, she was too busy. That's your theory. I find it hard to believe that a mother that was hellbent on protecting her son when she was alive would willingly keep such information hidden for so long. Mary knew that my daughter would turn against me if you told her I tried to have you killed." Nadia agitatedly says "Even still, you're responsible for infecting me and putting me in a coma and taking a year from my life!"

Sloane looks down and says "I never intended for what happened to you in Sovogda to happen, Nadia. I wanted the orchid extract to create a peaceful race of human..." Tom cuts him off angrily. "You did nothing to stop what happened, either. You wanted to see Elena complete her plan for your own curiosity. You probably had countless chances to put a bullet in that sick, demented dome of hers and stopped her from doing anything!"

Sloane smirks and says "You're right, I could have shot Elena. But you forget one key difference between you and me: I'm not as cold-blooded as you, Tom." Tom snickers and says "You actually might be right. After all, I'm more upfront about my business than you. You're just a coward, hiding behind others, playing games, and waiting for the right moment to come out and play."

Sloane sighs and says "I should expect that assessment coming from someone as biased as you..." Nadia angrily cuts him off and says "No, Tom's right. After all...when I was in the prison in Chechnya, you couldn't extract me yourself...you had Sydney do it for you. In fact, your whole reputation was built on the backs of others, including my sister."

Sloane then tersely says "I didn't come here to argue. I wanted to see if Tom could offer me any insight into his mother..." Tom gets in Sloane's face and says "Me and my mother aren't on speaking terms, so when I asked her to explain herself, she never responded. I only know what you know."

Sloane thinks for a bit, then says "So, you don't know anything about this ultimate prophecy..." Nadia fires "I knew it." Sloane looks at Nadia and asks "You knew what?" Nadia says "You couldn't care less about Mary! All this was was a ruse so you could find out about the ultimate prophecy!"

Sloane quickly says "That wasn't my motivation for researching Mary, but it did pique my curiosity." Sloane then looks at Tom and says "You have no memory of making the document?" Tom shakes his head. "No. I was too young. And even if I did...you think I'm going to tell you about it?"

Sloane loudly sighs and says "I was hoping you would as a courtesy. I figured you wouldn't have any use for its contents since you and Nadia have made vows to move beyond Rambaldi. Besides, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't know the truth about your mother." Tom shakes his head and says "I'd rather have known my mother as the innocent small town mother of three who died in a tragic accident than a former Prophet Five agent that sacrificed herself so my soon-to-be wife could live!"

Sloane replies "For the record, I'm grateful for what she did for my Nadia..." Nadia cuts him off angrily. "_Your _Nadia? I'm not yours! I wasn't yours when I was growing up, and I'm not yours now! Now, get the hell out of here, I never want to see you again!"

Sloane hangs his head disappointingly and says "I just wanted to see you on your wedding day..." Tom says "You step foot in that church, and you won't be alive when you leave it."

Sloane looks at Tom menacingly and says "Even though you're a violent man, I know you wouldn't risk murder on your wedding day." Tom walks up and gets in Sloane's face and sinisterly says "You're walking into the lion's den if you step in that church. No one there likes you, either. Killing you might be a risk I'm willing to take."

Sloane just defiantly smirks. "Is that so?" Tom nods and continues in a sinister voice. "Disposal would be easy. All I'll need is some hydrofluoric acid or sodium hydroxide, a plastic barrel, and an empty hole in the desert...and as I'm sure you've noticed, there's a lot of desert around here. It'd take them a long time to find you, and when they do, you'll just be a pile of unidentifiable thick brown sludge."

Nadia gives Tom a somewhat disturbed look at his description of how he'd handle Sloane's body. Meanwhile, Sloane gives Tom an unfazed, sarcastic smirk and says "Sounds like you gave this plan some thought." Tom smirks and says "You get a lot of time to daydream when you spend 11 months in prison. But, let's get one thing straight: You're not crashing our wedding unless you have a death wish."

Sloane nods slowly, then says "Let me remind you, my future son-in-law, that we wouldn't be having this conversation without my actions to revive Nadia. You wouldn't be enjoying your vacation with my daughter without me. You wouldn't be able to sleep besides my daughter every night without me. And you wouldn't be able to look forward to my daughter having a child without me..." Tom grabs Sloane by the shirt, pulls him in to his face and yells "Who told you she was pregnant?"

Sloane smirks and says "I tracked your vehicle to a gynecologist the very same day I came over. I had a hunch when I was at your apartment, but that trip confirmed it." Nadia grabs Tom by the shoulders and starts pulling him back. As she does, she tells him "Let him go, Tom." Tom grudgingly obeys and lets him go, muttering to him "God, I hate you..." as he does.

Sloane brushes himself off a bit, then says "So, my daughter is pregnant. Congratulations to the both of you. I'm sure it will be a lovely child." Nadia just gives him an angry look and doesn't say anything. Tom, meanwhile, says "It'll be a cold day in hell if you ever get to see your grandchild. By the time he or she is born, we'll be far, far away from LA. And we sure as shit aren't going to tell you where we're going. And before we leave, I will make sure to sweep for any tracking devices on my car and moving van, you asshole."

Sloane looks away for a bit, then says "When you two get married, you're making a vow to protect my daughter. I expect you to hold up to your end of the bargain. In the years before I was reunited with my daughter, I always wondered how she'd look on her wedding day, and if I'd ever get to see it. That's all I want to do is see it. After that...you won't see me ever again. I'll be satisfied that she'll be cared for. You have my word...I'll be gone after the wedding."

Tom looks over at Nadia and says "Nadia, this is your father, not mine. It's your call." Nadia looks at him understandingly, then turns to Sloane. "Here's what we're going to do. You go to the wedding, you sit in the back row, you don't say anything to anyone, including me, and you leave afterwards and get the hell out of our life...for good." Sloane thinks for a bit, then takes a deep sigh. "Fine."

Nadia then gives Sloane a menacing look and says "And you're not walking me down the aisle and giving me away. That's out of the question." Sloane nods and says "I kind of figured as such."

Tom then smirks and, seeing another time to drive in the knife into Sloane's chest, says "You know, your daughter was alone all throughout her childhood. Isn't it's ironic that your daughter is going to walk down the aisle alone..." Nadia, with an offended look on her face, yells "TOM!"

Tom turns to Nadia and sees that she's starting to form tears in her eyes. Tom looks down remorsefully and thinks about what he just said. He realizes he overstepped his boundaries somehow...but he's not exactly sure how. He's too pissed at Sloane to think straight.

Tom starts to walk back towards their beach house, his head hanging and humbled over hurting Nadia. Nadia, meanwhile, turns back to Sloane and, with a tear falling down her cheek and her voice shaking a bit, says "Just go. Please." Sloane nods and says "Thank you for letting me see your wedding."

Nadia just looks down and puts her hand on her forehead, trying to compose herself. Sloane, not wanting to risk backlash by trying to console her, just turns and walks away towards his car.

Tom stands at the doorstep, watching Nadia start to weep. He sees she's taking this really hard. As Sloane drives away, he walks up to Nadia and tries to put his hands on her shoulders, but Nadia instead pushes him away and looks at him all upset. She tersely says "Do you even realize what you just said?"

Tom looks down and says "Look, I just..." Nadia angrily cuts him off. "Now how am I supposed to feel on our wedding day? I AM going to walk down the aisle alone, and when I do, I'll know what I represent to you! I'll be just this pitiful, sad orphan girl I was and not the independent woman that I really am! I'm not a charity case!"

Tom frantically shakes his head and says "No, no, no! Nadia, I don't think of you like..." Nadia shoves him hard and yells "Then why say it? You think what happened to me in my childhood doesn't hurt my feelings? I've risen above all of that, and I thought you saw me as more than something to pity!"

Tom insistently replies "Listen to what you're saying! With all we've been through and all the time we've spent together, do you really think that I view you as anything less than a wonderful and amazing woman? Do you really?" Nadia wipes some tears away and says "I don't know anymore..."

Nadia then storms back into the bungalow and slams the front door. Tom just stands there in the front yard, almost feeling numb over hurting Nadia's feelings like that.

Tom then looks down at his wristwatch. He sees that it's 11 AM, and Mike's going to be flying in soon. He decides that a few drinks before he comes in would be a good idea...anything to let Nadia cool down a while...along with himself.

Tom gets into their car and starts it up. From inside their place, Nadia hears Tom start their car and pulls back the curtain. She watches Tom back out of the driveway. Nadia sighs and looks down as Tom drives off.

Nadia takes a seat on her couch and just sits back, feeling upset herself. Sydney, from her couch next to her's, says "I really don't think he sees you as a charity case." Nadia looks at Sydney and asks "Then why say that with me standing right there?" Vaughn says "Because he didn't mean it like that. He knows better than to say anything that would upset you like that."

Nadia takes a deep sigh and looks up at the ceiling. Vaughn did bring up a good point. Outside a few minor spats that they usually laugh off later and the ordeal when her father suspended Tom early in his APO tenure, Nadia never gets into fights with Tom.

Then she remembers what went down when Tom was suspended. She immediately realizes that Sloane seems to bring out Tom's bad side, and that his comment was made to hurt Sloane, not her.

She hangs her head and leans on her right arm that's propped up on the armchair. It's now her turn to feel bad about hurting her loved one.

* * *

><p><em><strong>BajaMar Restaurant and Taco Factory- downtown San Felipe<strong>_

Tom sits at a corner booth, a couple spots down from the two-person table that him and Nadia sat and ate at the day before. There's still not much of a crowd there, but there is a handful of people eating and drinking there today.

Tom just sits there, staring off into space, stirring the remnants of his rum and coke around with his little straw. Of all the times to get into an argument with Nadia over semantics, this was not a good time. Not right before their wedding.

Before he can think any further, he sees Mike Walcott come in through the entrance. Tom forces a smile on his face as he stands and gives him a wave. Mike smiles back and gives Tom a wave.

Tom reaches out his hand and Mike shakes it, then they give each other a pound hug. Mike says "It's good to see you, bud." Tom smiles and says "Thanks for coming down. I really appreciate it."

They release the hug and Mike takes a seat across the booth from Tom. Tom asks "Let me guess, vodka cranberry?" Mike waves his hand and says "Nah, just a cerveza."

Tom looks at him funny and says "You sure?" Mike smirks and says "Hey, you're supposed to get shitfaced the night before your wedding, not the night BEFORE the night before your wedding! Oh, and me and David are going to take care of you tomorrow night."

Tom, still keeping his funny look, asks "And what the hell do you have planned tomorrow night?" Mike starts shooing him away, saying "Need to know basis, and you don't need to know at the moment! Now, go get my drink, will ya?"

Tom chuckles a bit and goes up to the bar to get him and Mike two bottles of beer. He comes back and gives Mike his beer.

Tom holds up his beer for a toast, and so does Mike. Tom says "To the future." Mike nods and says "I'll go with that. To the future."

They touch glasses and take drinks from their bottles. Tom then sets his bottle down and says "I'm really glad you came. I know this wedding was on short notice and all..." Mike says "Ah, I understand. I figured when you two got back together that the wedding date wasn't far off. I'm still sort of surprised you're having your wedding down here, though."

Tom smirks and says "I'm surprised you're down here a day early!" Mike shakes his head and says "Come on, really? You give me a chance to enjoy some time on a nice sandy beach and I'm taking it!"

Tom smirks and says "I hear that." Tom then looks down and says "I'm also glad you're here right now. Me and Nadia had a bit of a fight a couple hours ago and I could use someone to vent to."

Mike looks at him concerned and asks "You and Nadia fight? That's almost unheard of." Tom sighs and says "She took something I said wrong. It was a stupid statement to begin with, but she took it hard."

Mike asks "What did you say?" Tom looks up and says "It was something I said to her father, actually. Sloane decided to pay us a visit this morning. He's going to be at the wedding."

Now a little irritated, Mike asks "What? Why the hell would you let him go to your wedding?" Tom shakes his head and says "It's complicated..." Mike sits back and says "Well, I'm right here and I've got time to kill. Go for it."

Tom takes a deep breath to compose his thoughts. Then, he starts off. "Mike, there's a few things about me that I haven't told you, mainly because I'm not sure how you'll handle what I'm going to say." Mike shrugs and says "Why would you be worried? It's just me."

Tom nods and says "I know...but you might find what I'm going to say a little hard to believe." Mike takes a drink and says "We saw some unbelievable things in Dark Cover when we were chasing down Covenant Special Sciences. Try me."

Tom takes another deep breath and says "Sloane came by about a week ago and dropped off a diary he found of my mother's. Turns out my mother didn't die in 1972 in a car accident. In fact, for about 10 years before the accident, she was a Prophet Five agent. When the accident happened, she switched over to the CIA."

Mike shakes his head a little dumbfounded and says "I don't understand..." Tom cuts him off. "She had my Rambaldi document. It was passed down throughout the generations as some sort of family heirloom. She left me so I could fulfill my role in the prophecy...until I revealed the ultimate prophecy that was mentioned in my document...then for the remaining 9 years of her life, she fought to keep me anonymous so I couldn't fulfill that. She blew herself up to take out a couple of Soviet guards in 1985. The reason she did that...was so Nadia could escape from their custody."

Mike's jaw drops in shock. "Your mom saved Nadia?" Tom nods. "Her and another agent, Michael Vaughn's dad. She was just as devoted to protecting Nadia as she was in protecting me. She actually fought to keep us AWAY from each other, but...something changed when she died."

Mike leans forward. "What do you mean? How would you know that?" Tom looks down at the table for a moment, then back up at Mike. "Mike, I can communicate with my mother from the afterlife."

Mike forms a blank expression on his face, shocked at this revelation. "How is that even possible?" Tom shrugs. "You got me. All I know is she can talk to me. When she establishes communication, I can talk back to her. Unfortunately, only she can initiate these conversations apparently. Not sure if this is by choice or something else."

Mike leans back and shakes his head dumbfounded again. "This is crazy..." Tom nods. "I know. Anyway, the other purpose of Sloane's visit today was to see if I could talk to Mary about some things he said in the diary."

Mike looks back at Tom and asks "Well, did she say anything?" Tom shakes his head. "No. We're not on speaking terms after she told me that she was responsible for setting me up to be thrown in prison."

Mike widens his eyebrows and, once again, looks stunned. "Now, my mind is officially blown...how did she set you up?" Tom replies "When my mom saw me melting down in Sovogda, she worked out a deal with Irina Derevko, Nadia's mother, to have Julian Sark set up to get the piss beaten out of him by me. She knew that would get me thrown in prison for the duration of Nadia's coma and would prevent me from doing something bad to myself."

Mike takes a drink off of his beer and looks at the bottle. "Maybe I should have gotten some hard alcohol for this conversation..." Tom laughs and says "How do you think I felt? I spent over 30 years of my life clueless to all of this."

Mike sets his beer down and asks "Ok, so what did you say to Sloane that offended Nadia?" Tom replies "Nadia told him that he wasn't going to give her away, and like a mindless ape, I tell Sloane how ironic it is that she'll be walking down the aisle alone when she was alone all her childhood."

Mike nods and says "Yeah, that was a dumb thing to say." Tom leans back and sarcastically says "I appreciate the support!"

Mike chuckles and says "Well, it's true! Think about all she's gone through, much of it at the hands of Sloane. I can see why she took that hard." Tom takes a drink and says "Yeah, and now she's pissed at me because she thinks I view her like a charity case."

Mike quickly asks "Do you?" Tom looks back at Mike and says "Of course not! If anything, I'm the lucky one in this relationship! She's saved my life three times: in Argentina, after I got shot, and when she helped get me out of prison! And despite all my misgivings, she not only stuck with me, but she got me out of prison!"

Mike then says "Make sure she knows that. She's down-to-earth, she'll understand. And yeah, you're really going to have to apologize for that comment." Tom looks down and says "I know...it's just her father really brings out the evil in me."

Mike leans back forward and asks "Ok, so why did you agree to let him see the wedding?" Tom shakes his head and says "Technically, it was Nadia's decision. He said he'd leave our lives forever after the wedding. And even though he's a bloodsucking tick on the ass cheek of life, he is responsible for Nadia being alive and well again. I guess we owed him that much."

Mike looks down and says "I've never actually seen this guy before, come to think of it." Tom smirks and says "He'll be the older guy in the back row with his mouth shut. He's been ordered to not speak to anyone. Don't encourage him. After all, you're supposed to be my best man!"

Mike looks up quickly and says "Really?" Tom smiles and says "Of course! You were my best man in my first wedding, and you've been my most loyal friend for the past 15 years. And remember, I'm supposed to be your best man at your wedding...whenever that happens."

Mike rolls his eyes and says "Yeah, like that's going to happen at this rate." Tom chuckles and replies "You seeing anyone now?"

Mike shakes his head. "No. Seeing as I'm likely leaving Baltimore soon, no sense in getting attached to anyone now." Tom shifts in his seat a bit. "You're still thinking about leaving the CIA?"

Mike shakes his head. "Thinking? No. I'm going to do it. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about a promising job lead I got. You remember Freddie Torres?" Tom smiles and says "Yeah, I was just talking to Nadia about Freddie last week at the safehouse in Tijuana. He was with me when I helped Hernando Rojas get revenge for his dead daughter. What about him?"

Mike smiles and leans forward. "Freddie lives out of Mexicali now and he's a bounty hunter. I called him a few days ago and mentioned I was looking to leave the CIA. He told me he's looking for a couple of partners to take on bigger assignments and asked if I was interested." Tom now looks intrigued. "You know, Mexicali isn't hard to get to from here. Did you put in a good word for me?"

Mike looks a bit surprised. "Yeah...wait, you're moving here?" Tom nods. "Yeah, me and Nadia already picked out a house. It'll be a few months before we can move down because there's a process we have to go through to buy coastal property as a non-resident."

Mike nods and says "Well, I know you said you were looking for part-time stuff. With bounty hunting, you could pick and choose your missions. Freddie tells me that many of these bounties are worth millions in pesos, so there's good money in it." Tom smiles and says "Yeah, plus add in the fact that, much of what we did in the Anti-Cartel was glorified bounty hunting, and we could make a killing down here!"

Mike nods affirmatively. "That's exactly what I thought!" Tom then frowns as he realizes something. "I already had a job offer, though."

Mike inquisitively asks "Doing what?" Tom replies "This time yesterday, I was at the bar here speaking to the assistant police chief of the San Felipe Police Department. He offered me a position in investigations. I'd set my own hours..."

Mike replies "But you know it wouldn't pay well." Tom shrugs. "So? With all the skimming money I have, I might not even need to work anymore. All I'm looking for is just a few extra bucks for day-to-day expenses."

Mike sighs and says "I understand where you're coming from...it'd just be nice to work with you again." Tom looks out at the sea and thinks for a bit. He then turns back and says "Listen, your offer sounds good as well. There's advantages and disadvantages to police investigating or bounty hunting. I need time to think about this."

Mike nods and says "Yeah, I've got a while to think about it myself. I'm not leaving the CIA quite yet, and I'll have to worry about packing and moving cross-country." Tom then asks "Where would you live?"

Mike shrugs and says "I'll probably go back home to Las Cruces, New Mexico. I still have family down there, and it wouldn't be hard to get from there to Mexicali." Tom nods and says "That makes sense."

Mike then finishes his beer and says "Another round? I'll get this one." Tom nods and says "Sure!"

Mike gets up to get them another round. The two would spend much of the rest of the day together.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's bungalow, San Felipe<strong>_

Tom pulls into their driveway later that night. He immediately notices that Sydney and Vaughn have left already. He sighs...feeling bad that he ruined their get-together today.

Tom parks the car and shuts it off. He grabs a bouquet of multi-colored dahlias, the native flower of Mexico. He couldn't find any lilies, otherwise he would have gotten them for Nadia as a peace offering.

Tom gets out of the car and walks through the front door. He immediately notices Nadia is sitting on the far side of the couch next to the front window. Tom looks down at her and says "Hey, babe." Nadia gives him a neutral "Hey" back.

Tom walks over to her and hands her the flowers. "I got these for you. I know they're not lilies, but I thought you might like them." Nadia takes the flowers and smells them. She cracks a small smile and says "They smell nice. Thank you. Where were you?"

Tom says "I was showing Mike around town and helped him get settled in. I also talked things over with him." Nadia nods and contritely says "About what happened earlier..."

Seeing as Nadia's not fuming at the moment, he sits down next to her left and grabs her right hand. "Nadia, I'm so sorry for what I said, that was stupid..." Nadia shakes her head. "No, I overreacted. I know you didn't mean it like that. I don't know what even came over me..."

Tom shakes his head. "That's no excuse. I know you've risen above where you came from..." Nadia cuts him off and intently says "And a lot of that is because of you. You bring out this inner peace and joy in me that I've never felt before and you make life so easy to face now."

Tom smiles and says "Thank you. But listen, you're not a charity case to me. Not by a long shot. In fact, it's me that often wonders why you even like me..." Nadia, now a little troubled, quickly says "Don't say that..."

Tom quickly says "No, I really do wonder. You've done so much good in my life, I'm not sure if I'll ever repay you. And besides, let's face it, you're out of my league when it comes to looks..." Nadia lets out a sudden giggle and says "Oh stop, I find you handsome, too! I don't just say that just to say it, either!"

Tom looks down a little embarrassed and continues. "Anyway, when you walk down the aisle in two days, don't think that I look at you as some sort of sad, pitiful creature. To be honest, I put you up on so high of a pedestal, I can't even reach you anymore. You're my world, Nadia. And when you walk down that aisle in two days, I'll be looking at you as the beautiful, wonderful, and independent woman that you are. And I'll continue to feel lucky that you even let me breathe your air."

Nadia gives Tom a very touched smile and says "Thank you for saying that." Nadia then looks down and says "I feel so bad that you had to say all of that just now to remind me of how you feel about me..." Tom grabs Nadia's chin gently and lifts her head up so she can look at him. Tom smiles and says "You have nothing to be sorry about. What I said earlier was wrong and I can see why you took it the way you did."

Nadia cracks a small smile and says "It's ok. I know my father brings out the worst in you. But after our wedding day, he's out of our lives for good. After our wedding day, we'll have nothing to worry about anymore. We'll have each other, we'll have our home, we'll have our child...and we'll be a family...a family that I've always dreamed of having. You say you're lucky to be in my life...well, I'm lucky to be in yours! Like I said yesterday...you're making my dreams come true!"

Nadia then sets the flowers that were on her lap on the coffee table and leans in and gives Tom a soft kiss. When she pulls back, she says "I love you so much, Tom." Tom smiles back and says "I love you, too, Nadia. And I love everything about you."

Nadia lightly touches the left side of Tom's face and says "Thank you." Tom grabs Nadia's hand gently and kisses the inside of it, then looks back at Nadia. "Did you eat already?"

Nadia shakes her head and says "I ate a little while ago with Syd and Vaughn. I'm not hungry." Tom says "Me neither."

Tom then laughs a bit, which causes Nadia to ask "What?" Tom looks back at her and says "You realize that the next meal we'll have together will be as a married couple? I'll be hanging with Mike and David all day tomorrow and you'll be back here with Sydney getting ready."

Nadia smiles wide and says "I think you'll like the dress I have picked out!" Tom smiles back and says "I know I will. When you walk down the aisle, you'll be making MY dreams come true!"

Nadia giggles a bit, then says "I'm sure I will, you've been dreaming about this day for going on a year now! And finally, in just a day and a half, I'm going to be able to call you my husband! I can't wait!" Tom says "And you're going to be my wife...and about 8 months from now, you'll be the mother of my child. You don't know how good that makes me feel."

Nadia leans forward and says with a smile "I think I have an idea how you feel..." Nadia then gives Tom another soft kiss. When she's done, she stands up and holds out her hand. Tom asks "What's this?"

Nadia temptingly says "You know what this is!" Tom grabs Nadia's hand and stands up. As he does, he asks "A little fun on our last night as a single couple?"

Nadia smiles wide and says "You catch on quick!" Nadia leans in to give Tom a couple tender kisses, pulling in Tom's head closer with her hand on the back of his head as she likes to do.

Nadia then releases and seductively says "Come with me..." She then gently grabs Tom's hand and escorts him to their bedroom.

We all know what happens from here by now.

**END OF CHAPTER**

_Note: The next chapter will be the wedding chapter! And it's probably gonna be a long one._


	37. Ch 36: The Greatest Day Of Their Lives

**THE GREATEST DAY OF THEIR LIVES**

* * *

><p><em>Note: FYI, this chapter is a mountain compared to the other chapters I've written so far. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed typing it. I'll admit the previous chapter wasn't the greatest, so hopefully this makes up for it.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mission San Felipe<strong>_

In her dressing room, Nadia Santos leans over in front of the mirror, putting the final touches on her makeup. As she does, Sydney Bristow is standing behind her, already dressed in her pink silk maid of honor dress and making the final adjustments on Nadia's wedding dress.

Nadia's dress is a glowing silk white mermaid wedding gown. It's strapless and tight to the top half of her body and down midway to her thighs, where it expands out and reaches all the way to the floor. She completes the look with white high heels, which will mostly be covered by the gown.

She chose the dress yesterday for a few reasons. She loved how it looked on her, as it really shows off her curves. She also liked how comfortable it felt. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, she knew Tom would love it.

Nadia has part of her hair wrapped up in a bun on the top of the back of her head. The rest of it flows long and straight down her back. Her long black hair reaches halfway down her back now, and she has some of her hair draped over her shoulders as well. Around her neck, we see the heart-shaped diamond pendant Tom bought for her a few days ago.

Nadia finishes brushing out her eyelashes and sets her brush on the table in front of her. Looking in the mirror, she looks at Sydney behind her and impatiently asks "Are you done back there?" Sydney, playfully irritated, says "Almost! There's a lot of buttons!"

After a few seconds, Sydney hooks up the last button and says "Ok, got it!" Nadia stands up straight and admires herself in the mirror for a few seconds, taking looks at herself from every angle. She then takes a relieved deep breath, happy over what she's seeing. She looks good and she knows it.

She then turns to Sydney and somewhat nervously asks "So, what do you think?" Sydney grins as she reaches over to a table and says "It's not finished yet!"

Sydney grabs a silver tiara with a white transparent veil attached to it on the back. She then reaches up and sets the tiara and veil on top of Nadia's head in front of the bun and adjusts it so it looks good. The veil goes about the length of her hair down her back.

Nadia turns back to the mirror and examines herself again. She looks very happy, if not a bit emotional as she looks at herself in the mirror. She's amazed that she turned out this good on her wedding day.

Sydney smiles and, as shes look at Nadia in the mirror, says "You look gorgeous!" Nadia lets out a quick, nervous breath and nervously says "Sydney...I can't believe this is happening! I'm actually getting married!"

Nadia turns and gives Sydney a hug. As they hug, Nadia says "Thank you so much for helping me pick out my dress yesterday!" Sydney replies "We did a good job. You're going to raise some eyebrows out there, including the two that matter!"

Nadia releases the hug and questioningly asks "You think Tom will be impressed?" Sydney reassuringly smiles and says "I guarantee it! In fact, I can already see the look on his face when you start walking down the aisle!"

Nadia cracks a somewhat nervous smile, then walks over and sits on the couch. She takes a deep breath, trying to compose her nerves a little bit. Sydney joins her on the couch and says "Hey, don't be nervous. The hard part is already over. You have the dress, it's on, and all that's left is the formalities. You're going to do great out there." Nadia takes a deep, nervous breath and says "I hope I do. I'd hate to embarrass myself in front of Tom and our friends!"

Nadia then turns and looks over at Sydney. "Sydney, I never thanked you for finding me in Chechnya, and for a year later, when you found me in Argentina and brought me into APO." Sydney looks at her a little funny and says "Why are you thinking about all of that now?"

Nadia replies "Because I realize if you hadn't done those things, my life would be so different. I wouldn't be sitting here, talking to my very own sister, about to get married to a man who loves me more than anything in the world, and carrying my son or daughter in my stomach!" Nadia sniffles a bit, causing Sydney to say "Hey, you can't start crying now, you'll have to re-do your makeup!"

Nadia takes a deep breath to compose herself, then says "I remember Tom telling me about a year ago how he had this dream of us living in San Felipe with no fears of any prophecies or any worries over impending doom...just a quiet and peaceful life to look forward to. He wanted to protect me and avoid anything like what happened in Sovogda happening to us. Maybe I should have listened..." Sydney puts her arm around Nadia to try to comfort her and says "I don't think he could have have envisioned what would happen. Plus, I know you still believed in your father and wanted to stay..."

Nadia looks at Sydney quickly with a look of disappointment and mild anger and says "And that was another foolish idea. My father is going to he here, Syd. At one point in my life, I would have been overjoyed to see him at my wedding. But now...seeing him will make me sick." Sydney shakes her head and says "Don't even think about Sloane today. This is your and Tom's day. The only thing that matters is what's going on on that alter."

Nadia nods and says "You're right." Nadia cracks a smile and looks back over at Sydney and says "I can't wait until our roles are reversed and you and Vaughn get married! I can't wait to be your maid of honor!" Sydney laughs and says "Well, we still might be a ways off from that day ever happening."

Nadia asks "Why? Just get it done!" Sydney looks down and says "There's a lot going on at work...and even though Vaughn is back, he's still at risk himself."

Sydney looks back up at Nadia and, with a smile, says "We're going to do what you and Tom are doing. We're going to wait for our problems to be behind us." Nadia smiles and says "That's probably a good idea!"

Nadia looks back down at her dress and contritely asks "With all I've done in life, do you think I deserve to wear white?" Sydney asks "Why would you ask that? Of course you do!"

Nadia looks back at Sydney and says "There's a lot that you and Tom don't know about me. I did a lot of awful things when I was a teenager, trying to survive on the streets of Buenos Aires with Cesar Martinez. I had over 130 criminal charges against me at one point...assault, burglary, you name it...and there was so much more I did that wasn't ever counted on my record. I was so different back then. I didn't even know who I was. But when Tom revealed what he did after his friend died, I asked myself who was I to judge him? I did bad things for survival, he did bad things to avenge a friend, and we both have done bad things for our jobs. I guess we both had valid reasons for our actions. I'd like to think we're both good judges of character. He wouldn't be with me if he thought I was rotten, and I wouldn't be with him if I thought he was rotten himself."

Sydney realizes something and, wanting to lighten the mood back up, asks "Speaking of your past, didn't you tell me you had a lip ring during your teen years?" Nadia, trying to hide her shame over that, says "Yeah, I thought it was cool..."

Sydney shakes her head and laughs. "I still can't imagine you with one! It just seems so out of character!" Nadia dismissively shrugs and replies "Like I said, I was a different woman back then."

Sydney then asks "Oh, do you have your vows written down? I'd like to read them if that's alright." Nadia shakes her head. "I don't have anything written down. I think it'll be better if I spoke from the heart when I'm up there."

Sydney raises her eyebrows and says "You're just going to wing it? Wow, aren't you courageous!" Nadia giggles a bit and says "I know how it's going to go! Trust me! I've given it a lot of thought and I'm not going to screw it up!"

Sydney giggles herself and says "I sure hope so!" Nadia then looks over at the door and says "I wonder what Tom's thinking right now..."

* * *

><p>Over in his dressing room, Tom Falk stands in front of a mirror and fidgets with his black shawl tuxedo. Underneath the tux is a white shirt with a silver tie. Tom reaches with his hand to adjust his white calla lily boutonniere on his left chest.<p>

In addition, Tom is also wearing black slacks and shined leather shoes. He's looking very formal and traditional for the wedding. He even looks handsome, although he'd probably never admit it.

From behind, his best man Mike Walcott stands up and says "Would you quit futzing with your tux already? You look fine!" Tom turns to him and worriedly asks "You sure?"

Mike then notices Tom's tie is a little off-center and walks up and adjusts it a bit. Then, he steps back and says "There, now you look good." Tom shrugs and says "As good as I'll ever be, I guess."

Tom eyes down Mike and says "You look good yourself." Mike smirks and says "Hey, I'm your best man! The last thing I want to do is piss off a groom with a titanium bone right fist on his wedding day!"

Tom laughs and says "Hey, I could hit pretty hard before Project Alloy!" Mike laughs back and says "Thank goodness I never tested you on that!"

Tom pats Mike on the shoulder, then walks over and sits on the couch and takes a deep breath to compose himself, much like Nadia just did in her dressing room. Mike notices he looks nervous and sits down next to him. He says "Relax, you're going to be fine out there."

Tom nods and says "I'm sure I will. I just don't want to do anything stupid out there and break Nadia's heart." Mike shakes his head and says "You won't. If you go into a mission...or in this case, a wedding, thinking you could fail...you just might. So, just be yourself and you'll be fine."

Tom rubs his palms in an another attempt to calm his nerves a bit. "Mike, I don't recall being this nervous before my wedding with Kate nine years ago." Mike pats Tom on the back and says "I know how you feel about Nadia. She has you whipped in a way Kate never did!"

Tom shakes his head as he laughs and says "I guess Nadia does have me whipped, doesn't she?" Mike smirks and says "Somehow, I don't think you mind that all that much."

Tom nods and says "Right, I don't. I loved Kate and all, but not like I love Nadia. I truly do cherish Nadia. When she learned I was in prison, she had the perfect opportunity to walk away. When she learned about what I did after our friend Matt Aguero died, she could have walked away then, too. But what did she do? She stuck with me. And not only did she stick with me, but she helped you and David get me out of prison..." Mike cuts him off and says "Helped? She was the ringleader in all of that, we were just along for the ride!"

Tom says "And that's my point. Nadia not only wanted me still in her life, she FOUGHT to have me in her life. You don't know what that means to me, Mike. What do you think Kate would have done were she in Nadia's shoes?" Mike sarcastically chuckles and says "She probably would have called you a piece of shit and left."

Tom looks at him funny and says "You think she would have just left it at 'piece of shit'?" Mike shakes his head and says "I was being nice. She would have tore you a new one and wanted nothing to do with you."

Tom nods and says "That sounds more like it." Tom then takes a deep breath and says "I feel like we're back at Matt Aguero's wedding 11 years ago. You remember that day?" Mike nods and says "I'll never forget it. Matt was just as nervous as you that day."

Tom looks down and says "I remember when Matt told me that his wife was his salvation. That she made him a better man and he felt born again. Well, Kate never really gave me that feeling, but Nadia does. Nadia is my salvation for all of the awful crap I've done in my life. She's the reason that I'm about to start the next chapter in my life. I'll be living the life I dreamed of: a peaceful life with the woman I love and not having to worry about us or our children being able to survive. And not only is Nadia taking my last name, she's also going to give me a child here in a few months. What did I do to deserve all of this?" Mike cracks a small smile and says "Love her. Plain and simple."

Tom shakes his head and says "Is that all? I mean...don't you ever stop and ask yourself how someone could even like you? I know I can be abrasive and I know I can spout off at the mouth and be my own worst enemy at times..." Mike cuts him off and says "You just said it right there."

Tom looks at him and asks "What?" Mike replies "You're your own worst enemy, no one else else is. You can influence how people think about you, but in the end, other people's feelings are their own. But think about why Nadia would like you...look at what you have done for her since you two got back together. I mean, I can't imagine myself rushing down to Argentina and dealing with a gang leader just to get a soccer program for a woman...and you're probably the only person on earth that would have gone that length for Nadia. Trust me, she realizes you care deeply about her, and with her background, that means a ton."

Mike then turns and looks down at the floor and says "But hey, what do I know? I can't hold a relationship to save my life..." Tom gives him a comforting smile and pats him on the back. "I know you'll find someone one day. And I appreciate your support as always. You were absolutely right just now."

Mike looks back at Tom and says "And I appreciate your support as well. We've been friends for 14 years and I'm glad you consider me your best man...now, just hold on to this one, ok? I'm not much for getting dressed all formally..." Tom laughs and says "Nadia's the one. I know that for a fact. We won't be doing this again!"

Suddenly, the door knocks to their dressing room. Tom shouts "Come in!" The door opens and David Marston, Tom's other Storm Crew friend, walks in and says "Hey, I think they're about ready to go out there."

Tom looks at David a little funny, then back at Mike. "Mike, that was you at Matt's wedding 11 years ago." Mike cracks a smile at that as David asks "What are you talking about?"

Tom looks over at David and says "I was the best man for a friend's wedding 11 years ago and Mike walked in and said exactly what you just said verbatim." David asks "Whose wedding was it? Anyone I'd know?"

Tom looks at Mike, then back at David. "I'll tell you the story of Matt Aguero another time. Now, who here could use a drink before the ceremony?" Mike stands up and asks "Who do you think you're talking to?" David walks over and says "I guess I'll take one, even though I'm still a little hungover from last night..."

As Tom grabs a bottle of tequila and three shot glasses from a table next to the couch, Mike tells David "I've never seen you so hammered before! What got into you, man?" David replies "Tequila is what got into me! I've never drank tequila that went down so easy!"

As Tom pours the shot glasses, he says "Well, this stuff is local, but it's pretty good, too." Tom hands Mike and David their glasses, then grabs his own and holds it up. Mike and David follow by holding up their glasses.

Tom says "Here's to being able to share the greatest day of my life with two of the greatest friends a man could have." David smiles and says "Here's to great wives." Mike smiles wide and says "And just like I said 11 years ago at Matt's wedding, here's to staying single!"

The three share a laugh over that and touch glasses. As they do, Mike and David say "Strength and honor." Tom smiles wide and says "Amigos hasta el final. (Friends until the end.)"

David looks at Tom a little surprised while Mike smiles wide and says "Yeah, amigos hasta el final." David asks "Where did that come from?" Tom replies "'Amigos hasta el final' was our 'strength and honor' when Matt Aguero was alive."

David asks "What happened to..." Mike cuts him off quickly. "Another time. Now, this man has to get married!"

The three gulp down their shots and walk out of the dressing room together.

* * *

><p>Out in the small, Mexican-style chapel, everyone else has gathered and is standing and waiting patiently for the ceremony to start. It's a hot day outside, but the fans and air conditioning are cranked up and everyone seems comfortable.<p>

On the bride's side to the left, we see Jack Bristow, Marshall Flinkmann, and Michael Vaughn, with Isabelle in her rocker seat next to him, nodding in and out of sleep. To the right side, we see David Marston walk back down the aisle and stand next to his wife Lisa, a short, brown haired woman with a bubbly expression. To her right is Karen Falk, an average woman in her early 40's with shoulder length curly hair. She also looks a little anxious for the ceremony to start.

Oh, and in the far back corner on the bride's side is Arvin Sloane, who just sits there quietly and looks like he's patiently awaiting for the ceremony to start. No one appears to be paying him any attention.

At the altar, we see the minister step up and turn out and face the crowd. The Hispanic man is dressed in a typical preacher's robe with a large cross necklace. To his back left and back right, we see floral arrangements that Marcus Dixon and Eduardo Munoz, Tom's attorney and former Anti-Cartel director, have sent.

Meanwhile, back near the front door of the chapel, Tom stands next to Mike, still looking very nervous as he looks down the aisle ahead of him.

To his left, a door opens and Sydney steps out quickly and closes the door just as fast, that way Tom doesn't peek in at Nadia and cause bad luck by seeing the bride before the ceremony.

Sydney gives Tom a wide smile and says "Hey, you look great!" Tom nervously smiles back and says "So do you! How does Nadia look?"

Sydney giggles a bit and says "You'll know in a minute or two!" Tom rolls his eyes and says "I know...that's why I'm so nervous. Imagining Nadia walking down the aisle was one of the things that kept me positive for 11 months in prison. I'm anxious to see how she'll look."

Mike then says "She'll look fine...and you'll be fine, too." Mike holds out his arm and asks Sydney "Shall we?" Sydney grins as she hooks her arm around Mike's and says "We shall!"

Mike and Sydney then walk off to walk down the aisle together, leaving Tom still a little nervous. He hears the small crowd give the best man and maid of honor a small round of applause.

Tom sees Mike and Sydney assume their positions next to the minister. Tom gives Nadia's dressing room door one final look, then starts walking when he hears the organ player start to play his intro music.

Tom takes a large deep breath and starts forward.

He walks at a somewhat quicker-than-normal pace down the aisle as he gets a friendly round of applause from the small group gathered. Tom looks over to the left at the bride's side and smiles at Jack, Marshall, and Vaughn. He looks right and does the same for David, Lisa, and Karen on his side. Tom hasn't noticed Sloane...yet.

Tom gets up to the altar and shakes the minister's hand, hugs Sydney, then takes his position to the right, where Mike is awaiting with a handshake and a pat on the back.

Tom turns back out to the crowd and immediately spots Sloane in the back right corner. They exchange blank glares for about a second, then Tom turns away and looks back out towards the entrance of the church. He's not allowing Sloane into his head...not today.

Tom puts his hands in his pant pockets. Mike notices and whispers "Hey, get your hand out of your pockets!" Tom looks over at him quickly, then back out down the aisle and folds his hands at his waist. Mike whispers "That's better." Tom whispers "Thanks!"

At that point, the organ player starts to play "Here Comes The Bride." Tom closes his eyes and takes another deep breath, and then opens his eyes again. He mumbles in disbelief "This is actually going to happen..."

After a couple seconds, he finally sees Nadia approach the entryway to the chapel. Once she clears the entrance to the chapel area, his eyebrows shoot up and his jaw goes agape at her beauty. Then, realizing he's probably being improper by having a wide-open mouth, forms a quick closed smile to compensate.

Nadia locks eyes with Tom and giggles a little bit at Tom's reaction. She slowly makes her way down the aisle, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands and looking perfectly radiant and glowing out of happiness and beauty.

The rest of the crowd also looks at her in awe. Lisa whispers to David "Oh my god, she's beautiful!" Karen hears and says "No kidding!" Marshall looks awestruck and mumbles "Wow..." Sloane, meanwhile, looks on admiringly at his daughter and even has a smile on his face.

Nadia finally reaches the altar and hands Sydney her bouquet of flowers, then turns and faces Tom, who looks like he's in a trance over her stunning beauty. Nadia holds out her hands and Tom gently grabs them. As he does, he whispers "You...look absolutely amazing..." Nadia grins and whispers back "You're looking pretty good yourself!"

The minister clears his throat and, in English, says "Everyone, please be seated." The crowd sits and the organ stops playing.

And at that moment, Tom and Nadia finally relax. It's just them and the minister now.

As Nadia and Tom continue to look at each other with looks of admiration, the minister starts off. "Today, we are gathered here to witness the union of Thomas Loren Falk and Nadia Anabella Santos. In addition to the crowd visibly present, I'd also like to welcome Tom's parents, Thomas Charles Falk and Mary Landry Falk, who are also here in spirit." Tom and Nadia both exchange smiles at the mention of Mary's name.

The minister pauses for a second, then continues. "Thomas...Nadia...this union completes a long path for you two. Based on the journey each of you have taken, I could preach about the importance of love and commitment, but quite frankly, you two seem to have that pretty well handled." Tom and Nadia both laugh a bit, as does the rest of the crowd...except for Sloane. The minister continues. "However, it is important that we remember what led you to each other, and that you continue to be the very people that got you to this point...the very people everyone gathered here today knows."

The minister then looks out to the crowd. "Does anyone have any kind words about these two they would like to share?" Marshall timidly raises his hand and stands up. Tom and Nadia look at him a little surprised that he would speak up.

Marshall clears his throat and says "Well, I'm not very good at these things...but I feel that it should be said that, uh, I accompanied Tom a few times when Nadia was in the hospital and, while Tom wasn't usually in the most conversational moods...and that might have been a good thing actually, considering I'm not exactly the smoothest conversation...he would always talk about how Nadia filled this hole in his heart...and how he had hoped this day would come. So, um, I guess I just wanted to say that I'm happy this day has come for you two and...well, I guess that's it!"

Marshall then nervously sits down. Tom mouths "Thank you" to him. Marshall just gives him a timid wave, then looks down a little embarrassed. Michael gives Marshall a pat on the back to relieve his tension a bit.

Next up is Jack, another small surprise. Jack says "One of my first memories of Tom was when I was recruiting him from Langley. He told me the story of how he met Nadia and how she saved him from a bad predicament. When I was informed of the wedding date, I remembered what Tom said after he was done telling his story at Langley. His exact words were 'I respect her very much and I still owe her a life debt.' Even though Tom and Nadia are no longer agents, I am pleased that Tom will be able to pay back that life debt by being Nadia's husband. And I'm happy for you, Nadia, that you're going to be able to live a long and happy life with this man. Congratulations...to the both of you."

Jack then takes a seat as the rest of the crowd, sans Sloane, gives him a small round of applause.

Next up is David, who takes a nervous breath and says "I wasn't there in Argentina, when Tom met Nadia. But, I saw the effect that Nadia had on him, long after the mission. Nadia, he always spoke very highly of you, like he was talking about his best friend. Anyone that knows me knows what I think about the man Tom Falk is. When I was facing a 20 year prison sentence for hacking the FBI mainframe, he didn't see me as a criminal. He saw through that and saw a man that just wanted to provide for my son in the only way he knew how." David then lowers his head and wipes some tears away. He sniffles a bit, then says "When he offered me the job as the op-tech specialist for Storm Crew and got my charges dropped, he ensured that I could see my son grow up. And he didn't stop there." David then looks down at Lisa. "When I was too afraid to ask Lisa out on a date, it was Tom that set us up on a blind date to get the ball rolling."

Nadia looks back at Tom and whispers "Did you really do that?" Tom looks back at her and nods. "Yeah, I did." Nadia smiles and whispers "That was sweet of you!" Tom shrugs slightly and says "I'm just glad it worked..."

David, still a little emotional, then says "I owe where I am in life today to you, Tom. And I'm glad that you're going to marry Nadia today. You two deserve each other, and I mean that in the best way possible. I'm so happy for you both." David then sits down and leans his head down to try to hide his tears. Lisa puts her arm around him to console him. Tom cracks a touched smile at David's speech as the rest of the crowd gives him a round of applause.

And finally, Tom's sister Karen stands up. She takes a deep breath and says "Me and Tom have been pretty close for most of our lives, even when he moved away to Los Angeles to join the CIA! But, for almost two years, from 2003 to 2005, me and my baby brother didn't speak to each other. We had a bit of a falling out over our father's death and, as it turns out, we were both afraid to talk to each other because we were both expecting nothing but a shouting match. After all, we're Falks, and we tend to get a little animated!"

The rest of the crowd, minus Sloane of course, chuckles a bit. Nadia giggles at Tom as he hangs his head and laughs and shakes his head.

Karen, smiling wide, continues. "See, he knows! But do you know who ended up breaking the ice between us?" Karen points at Nadia. "It was Nadia. When I called his apartment one day, Nadia picked up the phone. We had a nice chat about where they were in their lives and how she had just moved in with him. And as I heard her talk, I understood why Tom liked her so much. She sounded pleasant...kind...but more importantly, genuine. Also, honey, I would give anything to have your accent! It's much prettier than my my country accent, let me tell you!" Nadia laughs at that.

Karen laughs herself, then continues. "Anyway, Nadia convinced my baby brother to call me. And when he did, it was like we never had stopped talking to each other!" Karen then looks down a bit, then back up. "I know Tom was afraid to call me while he was in prison. But, when he did...instead of feeling remorse over what he did, he had more remorse over the fact that Nadia wasn't in his life because of her ailment she dealt with for nearly a year." Karen turns and gives Sloane a bit of a menacing glare, knowing he was the cause of it. Sloane just stares back at her blankly. Karen then turns and continues. "Nadia, honey, there wasn't a conversation where he wouldn't talk about how much he missed you. And when Tom called me out of the blue and explained that not only were you revived, but you also helped him get out of prison...well, I knew you were something special. Unlike Tom's ex, who...well, I won't say anything vulgar in a house of God...but unlike his ex, I'd be so honored to call you my sister-in-law. I'm so happy that my baby brother has found his true love!" Karen sniffles a bit, then says "Ok, I'm getting a little emotional, I better stop now! Just...congratulations! I'm so happy for you both!" Karen sits down and the rest of the crowd, minus Sloane, gives her a round of applause. Tom and Nadia clap as well, with Nadia smiling wide and mouthing "Thank you" to Karen.

The minister says "Thank you, everyone. And now, Thomas and Nadia, it is time to confirm your desires to be married."

The minister looks at Nadia. "Nadia Santos, do you take Thomas Falk to be your husband, companion, and friend? Do you promise to love him, honor him, and cherish him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

Nadia confidently replies "I do." Tom lets out a sigh of relief, which Nadia lightly giggles at a bit.

The minister then turns to Tom. "Thomas Falk, do you take Nadia Santos to be your wife, companion, and friend? Do you promise to love her, honor her, and cherish her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

Tom nods slowly as he looks deeply into Nadia's eyes and says "I do." Nadia smiles wide and mouths "Thank you" to him. Tom smirks and mouths back "You're welcome."

At this point, the minister asks the crowd "If there is anyone that wishes that these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

As he finishes saying that, Tom slowly turns his head and eyes down Arvin Sloane. Tom gives Sloane a death stare, almost daring Sloane to say something.

Meanwhile, Sloane glares back at him with an angry and somewhat offended look. By now, the crowd has noticed their staredown and has turned to look at Sloane, now patiently awaiting his reaction, too. Sloane then looks around and sees everyone looking at him curiously. Nadia looks on with a look of concern while Tom continues his look of menace. Sloane starts to feel a little uncomfortable being the center of attention here.

Sloane looks at Nadia for a little bit. He knows his daughter is about to get married to a man who hates him more than anything in this world. Sloane also knows that, if Tom hadn't promised to let Sloane live if he found a cure for Nadia, Tom would probably make good on his desire to turn Sloane into unidentifiable thick brown sludge like he said he'd like to do a couple days ago.

Internally, as Sloane looks at his daughter, he feels her slipping away from him. Nadia has clearly chosen Tom over him as the man in her life to lean on.

Sloane then turns back to Tom and stands up slowly. The rest of the crowd looks a little nervous at what Sloane might do. Everyone knows about the rift between Tom and Sloane and no one would put it beneath Sloane to put the death knell on an otherwise wonderful wedding.

Tom forms a scowl on his face. "_He's __really __going __to __say __something, __the __jackass__" _he thinks to himself. Nadia, meanwhile, forms a look of fear on her face, afraid that her father is going to ruin the wedding.

You could cut the tension with a knife in the chapel as Tom and Sloane stare each other down for a little bit.

Finally, Sloane, still eyeing down Tom, utters three words in about as defeated of a tone as you can get: "She's all yours."

And then suddenly, Sloane quickly walks around the back of the pew and out of the chapel area.

Sloane walks through the lobby and angrily shoves the front doors open, forcing them to go flying open quickly. As he walks through the doors, they come back and slam shut, causing some audience members to jump a little bit.

Unbeknownst to anyone in the chapel, Sloane walks to his car and leans up on it for a bit. He fights the tears for a while, but he succumbs to them after a few seconds. Finally, he just lets the waterworks flow. While this was a day of happiness for everyone else in the chapel, it might as well have been Nadia's funeral to him. She was now out of his life, and there's no turning back now.

She's gone. And this fact is destroying him.

Finally, Sloane reaches into his coat pocket and, with his hands trembling, grabs his keys, gets in his car, and drives off out of the parking lot quickly.

Meanwhile, back in the chapel, a somewhat uncomfortable pall has been cast over the crowd. Tom notices and sighs. He then looks back at Nadia to gauge her reaction. Nadia still looks out at the front doors, recollecting her father storming out.

And then, she takes a relieved sigh of relief and turns back to Tom. Seeing Tom's concern, she cracks a small smile and mouths "I'm ok." Tom gives her a small headnod and cracks a small smile...and then a wide one when he realizes the magnitude of what just happened. Now, he actually wants to do a happy dance, seeing as Sloane was now out of their lives for good, but realizes this is obviously neither the time nor place.

The minster then cracks a smile and, trying to get the ceremony back on track, asks "At this point, you may make your wedding vows. Before we begin, do you have the rings?"

At this point, Vaughn stands up from the front row and leans over Isabelle, who's dressed in a little wedding dress herself. Tom and Nadia see Vaughn doing something with Isabelle's hands before picking her up.

Vaughn then walks up to Tom and holds Isabelle out in front of them. Tom and Nadia look at Isabelle's hands and sees a ring on each hand around a couple of fingers.

Karen and Lisa let out an audible "Aww!" as Tom and Nadia grab their respective rings from Isabelle's fingers. With a wide smile, Tom then breaks tradition by saying to the crowd "How about a round of applause for our little ring-bearer: Isabelle Vaughn!" Sydney laughs and starts clapping along with the rest of the crowd. Isabelle just has a blank expression on her face, not comprehending that they're clapping for her. Vaughn smiles wide and takes Isabelle back to her rocker.

After the applause stops, the minister says "Ok, Nadia, you may begin."

Nadia looks back over at Tom and says "Tom, I take you to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you, I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully, through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy, like I always have. For whatever may come, I will always be there, as you've been there for me. As I have given you my hand to hold, I also give you my life to keep. I love you, Tom, and I will never stop loving you. This ring will symbolize that undying love for you and serve as a promise to keep on loving you as much as you love me!"

Nadia then gently grabs Tom's left hand and slides his wedding ring on his ring finger, then they go back to holding hands and looking at each other. Tom notices Nadia has shed a couple tears. He reaches over and gently wipes them away. Nadia whispers "Thank you". Tom whispers "No, thank you."

The minister says "Ok, Thomas, you may give your vows."

Tom looks at the minister, and then back at Nadia. "Nadia, as we get married here today, I want to make you these promises. From this point forward, Nadia, I promise I will laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow. I promise I will share in your dreams, and support you in your hopes. I promise I will listen to you with compassion and understanding, and speak to you with encouragement. I promise I will help you when you need it, and step aside when you don't. I promise I will remain faithful to you for better or worse, in times of sickness and health. Nadia, you are my best friend and I will love you and respect you always. And today, I can officially say you've made me into the man I want to be. I already have given you my heart...you're wearing it around your neck...and now, I give you my life to do whatever you want to it. From here on out, I'm yours."

Tom then gently holds Nadia's left hand and slips her wedding ring on her ring finger. As he does, he says "I love you, Nadia. And I will love you for all of eternity, even after our time on earth is done."

They then go back to holding hands. Nadia looks genuinely touched at Tom's vows and mouths "That was beautiful" at him. Tom simply mouths back "Thank you."

The minister smiles wide and says "And now, the moment we all have been waiting for...Thomas Loren Falk...Nadia Anabella Santos...I now pronounce you husband and wife. Thomas, you may now kiss the bride."

Tom takes a step forward and calmly puts his hand on Nadia's waist. Nadia, however, isn't feeling as patient. In her trademark move, she quickly puts her right hand on the back of Tom's head and pulls him in for a deep, deep kiss that literally sucks the wind out of each other.

The crowd stands up and claps as they continue their long kiss. Finally, Nadia releases and pulls back quickly with a giant, satisfied smile on her face. Tom has a smile that is about as equally as large. Both of them are trying to catch their breath, and they both laugh a little bit out of both happiness and joy.

Then, the minister says "Everyone, I'd like to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and Nadia Falk!" The crowd continues to clap as Tom and Nadia hold each other's hand and walk down from the alter.

They both have glowing smiles in their faces as they walk down the aisle past their friends and family and out the front door into the dry, desert heat of Baja California. They could care less about the heat, though. They have other things on their mind right now.

When they get outside and, seeing as they're alone for at least a few moments, the first thing Tom and Nadia do is embrace each other tightly and engage in another long and energetic kiss. After a few seconds, they release and Nadia, completely filled with excited and happy energy, exclaims "WE'RE MARRIED!" Tom replies "We are! I can't believe it finally happened!"

Nadia then dives into Tom's arms again and gives him another strong hug. As they hug, Sydney and Mike walk out of the front doors. Nadia releases the hug and bounds over to Sydney to give her an excited hug. Sydney looks a little surprised at Nadia's explosion of energy, but returns the hug just as strongly. Nadia excitedly says "This is so amazing...I can't believe I'm married!" Sydney laughs a bit and says "I hope you believe it soon! You're married, sis!" Nadia exclaims "I KNOW! I'm so happy right now!"

Tom walks up to Mike and they give each other a standard hug. They quickly release and Mike tells Tom "Congratulations, bud. That was a heck of a ceremony...I told you you'd do fine." Tom pats Mike on the shoulder and says "Thank you for being there...as always." Mike pats Tom back on the shoulder and says "No problem, bud. I'm happy for you."

Soon after, everyone else starts filing out of the church. Tom immediately spots David. He walks over to him and they give each other a strong hug. As they hug, Tom pats David on the back and says "Thank you for what you said." As they release, David says "I meant every word. You're the man." Tom shakes his head and says "No, you are. I wouldn't be getting married today without your computer wizardry when you, Mike, and Nadia got me sprung from prison!" David smiles and looks at the ground a little embarrassed at the compliment.

Meanwhile, Karen gives Nadia a hug and says "From one Falk to another, welcome to the family!" Nadia excitedly says "Thank you! And thank you for what you said about me!" Karen releases the hug and says "Hon, you're the light of my baby brother's life. I know you'll take care of him!" Nadia smiles wide and says "And I know he'll take care of me." Karen frowns and says "He better, or he'll have me to answer to! He knows better than to piss off his sister, trust me!" Nadia laughs at Karen's feisty spirit.

Tom walks up to Marshall and shakes his hand. "Marshall, heck of a speech." Marshall nervously smiles and says "Really? I could have been smoother..." Tom shakes is head. "It's not how you said it. It's what you said. I really appreciate you being here and for all your help while Nadia was in the hospital." Marshall shrugs and anxiously says "No problem...I mean, I know how much seeing Nadia meant to you, and when Syd couldn't escort you...I just thought I should step in. I mean, you helped me move in my HDTV and, um, what else...oh, we had lunch that one day..." Tom laughs and says "Don't mention it. I'm glad to consider you a friend." Marshall cracks a confident smile at that and looks around to see if anyone else heard that.

Nadia spots Jack hanging out near the doors. She walks up to him quickly and says "Thank you so much for being here. I was so worried that you weren't going to come because of what I did..." Jack shakes his head. "You did what you had to do to get your husband back. I was quite surprised when I heard you even wanted to come back to APO. I thought for sure you were going to move on...I guess my instinct was right." Nadia smiles and says "Thank you for understanding." Jack cracks a small smile and says "You look great today, and I'm happy for the both of you, I really am." Nadia gives Jack a relieved smile, then gives him a hug.

Tom spots Vaughn standing next to Sydney and walks up to him for a handshake. Vaughn puts Isabelle over his left shoulder and shakes Tom's hand with a grin. "Good job up there, you did good." Tom smirks and says "Thanks!" Tom then looks at Isabelle, who's looking back at him with a smile. "And thank you for being a great ringbearer!" Isabelle coos a bit and excitedly shakes her arms up and down as Tom continues to look at her with a smile.

Lisa walks up to Tom and Vaughn and says "The baby giving Tom and Nadia their rings was so adorable!" Tom bends down and gives Lisa a hug. "Thanks for being here, Lisa. And thanks for being there for David." Lisa giggles and says "Oh stop! Gosh, you and David are always so melodramatic!" Tom laughs as he releases the hug and says "You know why I set you two up on that blind date?" Lisa shrugs and curiously asks "Why?" Tom replies "Because, I knew you'd wear the pants in your relationship." David, who was congratulating Nadia, looks back and irritatedly says "Hey!" Tom and Lisa both share a laugh at the ribbing on David.

Nadia walks back over to Tom and holds his hand. As she does, she looks back and says "Ok everyone, the reception is at our beach house! I hope you like fish, we have plenty!" Tom and Nadia then walk over to their car, followed by everyone else.

Tom opens the passenger's door and holds her hand like a gentleman as she gets into the seat. Tom then closes her door, runs over to the driver's side and quickly gets in and starts the car. Before he leaves, he can't resist turning over to Nadia and giving her another kiss.

Luckily for him, Nadia had the same idea and was already leaning over to kiss him. They exchange a couple tender kisses, and then look at each other in awe over being husband and wife. Finally, Tom says "You look so..." Nadia frantically cuts him off and says "You can tell me back at the beach house, everyone's going to beat us, let's go!"

Tom then backs out and drives off down the road. The trip to their little bungalow normally takes about 5 minutes from downtown San Felipe...but it only felt like 5 seconds for the both of them.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's bungalow<strong>_

Back at the beach house, everyone has gathered and appears to be having a good time. Some stand out in the back patio while others are inside, trying to avoid the heat and the sun that is about an hour or so away from setting over the desert mountains to the west. All of the men have taken off their jackets and are now just in their white dress shirts.

Marshall, David, and Lisa are sitting on the couches inside, talking about computer stuff. After leaving Dark Cover, Lisa became a technology consultant and more than holds her own in the conversation with Marshall and David.

Jack, Vaughn, and Nadia are outside and having a pleasant conversation. Sydney is off in Tom and Nadia's bedroom, changing Isabelle's diaper.

Meanwhile, Mike and Karen are also outside, having what appears to be a very entertaining chat about something.

Tom's inside in the kitchen, rolling fish fillets in batter and frying them in the fryer. He looks like he's having a good time himself as he takes a drink of his glass of champagne. Most of the other guests have either beer or champagne themselves. Tom then grabs a remote and changes the song on the stereo to Guns and Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine."

As Tom sets more fish into the fryer, Nadia steps in from the back patio. She tiptoes behind Tom and puts her hands over his eyes. Tom freezes and says "This better be my wife..." Tom pulls Nadia's hands away and turns and faces a giddy Nadia.

Nadia puts her hands on Tom's shoulder and leans up for a quick peck on the lips. When she's done, she asks "Why don't you join the rest of us? The fish can wait..." Tom shakes his head and says "I will! I'm just trying to keep up with demand, that's all. Everyone seems to really like our fish!"

Nadia then stands next to Tom and leans back on the counter. As she looks out at Mike and Karen, she playfully says "I think we have a situation developing with two of our guests..." Tom looks at her funny and asks "Who?"

Nadia points to Mike and Karen. Tom looks over at them and sees both of them smiling and laughing over something. Tom shrugs as he goes back to the fish and plainly says "Seems like they're having a good time to me." Nadia looks over at Tom and says "They've been flirting with each other since they got here!"

Tom flashes her a quick, surprised look and asks "What?" Nadia turns back to Mike and Karen and says "I overheard them a few times. They're both saying things like how nice each other looks, trading jokes and stories..."

Tom shrugs and say "So?" Nadia looks back at him and says "They've also been...touchy with each other, too." Tom looks back outside and sees Karen adjusting Mike's tie.

Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "No way. Mike's not her type." Nadia asks "What type does Karen have?"

Tom sighs and says "Mike's too quiet and too small for him, she likes bigger men. Besides, she has a son and that usually is enough to send Mike running for the hills. This is so baffling, he knows Karen has a kid..." Tom stops when he sees Mike and Karen give each other a hug. Nadia notices as well, and looks back at Tom with a smirk. "See what I mean?"

Tom turns away and stares at the frying fish in disbelief. "That is just so bizarre..." Tom hears the patio door slide open and a smiling Karen walks back in. Nadia gives Tom a pat on the back and goes to walk outside to rejoin Jack and Vaughn. Sydney has also re-emerged with Isabelle and joins Nadia outside.

Karen, meanwhile, walks and stands next to her brother. Tom gives her a somewhat conspicuous look and asks "Having a good time?" Karen just gives him an unassuming smile and says "Yeah, I am. Your friend Mike is a riot!"

Tom takes some fried fish out of the fryer and sets them on a plate. As he does, he says "Mike's my best friend not named Nadia. We've both seen and done a lot together, ever since we met in 1992. He's a great guy, and he's full of funny stories." Karen looks back out at Mike, who has joined in on the conversation Sydney, Nadia, Jack, and Vaughn are having.

Karen then turns back to Tom and casually asks "Is he seeing anyone?" This causes Tom to suddenly drops his tongs in shock.

Karen notices and asks "What? What is it?" Tom turns and says "You have the hots for Mike? Really? He's five years younger than you and he's not your type!"

Karen incredulously looks at Tom and asks "And how would you know what type I have?" Tom replies "I've seen the guys you date! Isn't Mike a little...small for you?"

Karen lets out a somewhat disgusted sigh and says "I've grown up a little since my twenties, baby brother! Besides, his beard is cute...he's got a great smile...he makes me laugh..."

Tom rolls his eyes and says "Ok, enough! I know Mike, I don't need a description!" Karen now insistently asks "So, is he dating anyone or not?"

Tom raises his eyebrows open wide and says "No...he's not! But he lives in Baltimore and is considering moving back to his hometown in New Mexico. I'm not sure how you two would work..." Karen replies "Well, who says I have to stay in Missouri? I'm 41 years old, maybe I'd like to live somewhere else, too!"

Tom shakes his head and says "You want to uproot yourself and Danny after all this time? You hardly ever leave Bunker!" Karen shrugs and says "Well, it's something I'd consider for the right guy..."

Tom finishes taking the fish out of the fryer and turns to Karen. "Look, you're my older sister. I'm not in any position to tell you you shouldn't date anyone. But, Mike is my friend, and..." Karen gives Tom a pat on the shoulder and says "I understand. I'll just drop it. I'm sorry I brought it up."

Karen then walks away a little disappointed. Tom turns to her and solemnly says "Hey, Karen..." Karen stops and turns to Tom and asks "What?" Tom replies "I'm not saying you two shouldn't date. Just...let me talk to him first? I know him, I'll see where his head's at, ok?" Karen dismissively shrugs and says "Fine."

Karen then walks down the hallway to freshen up in the bathroom. Since there's no more fish to fry at the moment, Tom then walks out to the patio to join Mike, Nadia, Sydney, Vaughn, and Jack.

Nadia smiles as he steps out and says "Hey, look who decided to join us!" Tom sheepishly smiles and says "Yeah, yeah...anyway, there's more fish if you want any of it." Vaughn then says "That's really good fish, you said you caught it all yourselves?" Tom nods and goes to say something, but Nadia cuts him off by confidently saying "Well, I caught most of it..."

Tom rolls his eyes and says "Oh come on, we were even!" Nadia replies "But you had to release most of your fish because they were so small!" Sydney then steps in and says "You both caught the fish! You're married, you're supposed to do everything together!"

Nadia gives Sydney a playfully offended look and says "Hey, you're supposed to support your sister!" Tom then says "Hey, don't get angry at Sydney for being right!" Tom tells Sydney "Thank you, by the way!" Sydney smiles back and says "Absolutely! Anyway, I'm going to have some more fish, who's coming with?" Sydney walks back in, followed by Vaughn and Jack.

Mike turns to Tom and asks "What kind of fish is that?" Tom replies "Grouper. And yeah, it's great." Nadia smirks and says "Especially when you know you caught it yourself!" Tom looks at her and rolls his eyes and says "Yeah, yeah. My wife, the fishing queen..."

Tom then says "Nadia, I need a word in private with Mike if you don't mind." Nadia nods and says "Sure, I'll be inside." Tom and Nadia exchange a quick kiss and Nadia walks towards the back patio door.

Tom watches her walk away with a look of admiration. Even her backside looks splendid today. Mike notices Tom admiring at his wife and says "She really looks great today." Tom nods and, still staring at Nadia, says "I'm the luckiest man on the face of this earth."

Nadia reaches the door and turns towards Tom. She immediately notices she's been staring at her this whole time. Tom smiles and gives her a wink. Nadia smiles back and returns the wink with one of her own before stepping inside.

Mike now curiously asks Tom "What's up?" Tom turns to Mike, folds his arms and plainly says "My sister likes you."

Mike bashfully looks down at the ground and says "I kind of noticed..." Tom gives him a funny look and says "And, guessing by the shy look you have on your face now, you like her too and you're afraid to say it around me."

Mike kicks at the ground a little bit, then looks back up at Tom. "Tom, I'm almost afraid to say this..." Tom pats Mike on the shoulder and says "Mike, you know you can tell me anything, it's ok."

Mike takes a deep breath and says "I've kind of had a crush on your sister for a while now." Tom's facial expression turns blank. He blankly asks "Really?"

Mike gives Tom a timid smile and says "Yeah, I remember her fondly from your first wedding and from when she'd visit you sometimes when we were in LA." Tom confoundedly asks "Ok...what makes my sister so special to you? I'm not seeing it."

Mike looks back down at the ground and says "Well, she's nice, she's funny, she's got a great spirit. She's also..." Mike thinks about what he's about to say, then looks up at Tom and says "I think Karen is beautiful. Just something about her eyes and her smile..." Tom holds up his hand and says "Ok, I get the picture."

Mike then says "Anyway, I know she's your sister, and I was afraid to ask if it'd be alright if I asked her out..." Tom laughs a bit, stopping Mike in his tracks. Mike concernedly asks "What? I can't?" Tom looks out at the sea for a split second, then back at Mike. "I'm laughing because Karen just asked me if you were dating anyone."

Mike forms a look of surprise and says "Really? She said that?" Tom nods and says "Yeah. Apparently she thinks about you the same way you think about her...right down to the smile."

Mike beams wider and says "Did she really? Wow...I mean...yeah, wow!" Tom shakes his head a bit and laughs. "Mike, I had no idea you felt that way about my sister. This totally is coming out of nowhere...but don't worry about what I think. Just ask yourself if you could maintain such a long-term relationship."

Mike smirks and says "Like I told you before, I'm looking to make a change in my life and career. I can make it work." Tom thinks about that for a bit, then understandingly nods and starts walking back towards the patio door.

Mike, a little confused, asks "So, does this mean I can ask her out?" Tom looks back at him and says "Mike, I'm not her keeper! I just wanted to let you know what she told me. You can do what you like."

Tom then walks back into the beach house while Mike breathes a loud sigh of relief.

Tom, upon walking in, sees Nadia, Sydney, Vaughn, and Jack sitting at the dining table, enjoying their fish and drinks. He then spots Karen standing near the hallway, looking at him with a hopeful look.

Tom gives her a small smile as he walks over to her. Karen nervously asks "I saw you talking to Mike just now, what did he say?" Tom gives his sister a sarcastic look and says "I'm a little old to be playing messenger boy between two grown adults. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Tom then gives Karen a warm smile and a wink, alleviating her fears a bit. Karen smiles widely back and says "I think I just will!" Karen then walks around Tom and goes and joins Mike in the back patio. Tom looks at them two light up at the sight of each other again and has a satisfied smile on his face. Maybe they would be good for each other...

As he stands there, Vaughn stands up, grabs his suit jacket, and approaches Tom. Tom asks "What's up?" Vaughn replies "I know today's your wedding day and all, but I have something I think you should see. It regards your mother."

Tom looks a little surprised, and looks over at his shoulder at Nadia. Tom motions her over, and she stands up and joins them. She asks "What is it?" Tom tells Vaughn "If it regards my mother, I think Nadia would be interested."

Vaughn nods and the three proceed to Tom and Nadia's bedroom.

Tom and Nadia sit on the edge of the bed. Vaughn sits next to Tom and says "I read your mother's diary a few nights ago. I just want to say I'm sorry for what happened to her." Tom shakes his head and says "It's ok, me and Nadia have come to grips with it."

Vaughn then says "I got to the part where she said she changed her name to Nancy Taylor. She must have used that alias before she officially changed her name." Nadia asks "How do you know that?"

Vaughn sighs and says "I had a math tutor for a few years growing up. Her name was also Nancy Taylor. And when I read about her alias, I remember how you described your mother, Tom. It was a perfect description of the Nancy I knew." Tom shakes his head and says "So, maybe she wasn't a maid...maybe she thought being a tutor was more dignified."

Vaughn says "Anyway, I looked through my old photos...and I found a picture of her. I thought you should see it." Vaughn reaches inside his suit jacket and pulls out a photo and hands it to Tom. Tom examines it.

It's a picture of young Vaughn holding up a math test to the camera. He got an A on the test and he's got a big smile over it. But, in the background, we see a familiar blonde, early 40's woman sitting on the other side of the kitchen table. She's leaning forward and looking at Vaughn with a closed, wide smile.

Tom recognizes her immediately. With his voice shaking, he says "That's my mom...that's her..." A tear streams down his cheek, and Nadia immediately puts her arm around him to console him.

Tom looks over at Vaughn and asks "When was this picture taken?" Vaughn replies "I think I was 7 when that picture was taken. Guessing by the Christmas decorations, I'd say this was sometime around Christmas 1978." Tom wipes his tears away as Nadia asks Vaughn "How do you remember her? What was she like?"

Vaughn replies "She was very nice. Intelligent...even funny at times. But, as I thought about it, there were times where she looked visibly troubled...like something was weighing on her a lot. When I cross-referenced her diary entries in 1978 and 1979, my guess was what she was doing for you two was really starting to take a toll on her. This would have been after the time you accidentally spotted her. And of course, I never saw her again after she went off the grid with my father." Tom looks over at Vaughn and says "I know this might be a sensitive subject...but did she and your father seem close? Like, romantically?"

Vaughn shakes his head. "No. That must have developed later." Tom nods and says "Good. I'd hate to think of my mom as a homewrecker."

Tom then goes to hand Vaughn the picture back. Vaughn, however, holds up his hand and says "No, you can keep it. It means more to you than me." Tom wipes some more tears from his eyes and says "Sorry I'm tearing up...this is the first picture I've seen of her after the car accident I thought she died in. I just think back to all those Christmases where I wish my mother was around...and she wasn't. All because of this damned prophecy..."

Vaughn stands up and says "I realize this might not be much consolation, but your mother was very helpful, math was not my best subject!" Tom looks up and, still a little emotional, says "Thanks, I'm glad she could help you. And make sure Karen doesn't know what we were just talking about, ok? It'd destroy her." Vaughn nods and says "Of course."

Vaughn then walks out. Tom and Nadia keep looking down at the picture, both feeling a little deflated now. And then...something happens that neither one of them expected.

A familiar voice comes through to them: _"Put the picture away."_

Tom and Nadia both look up quickly in shock. Mary Falk has finally broken her silence. Nadia gets up and quickly closes the door and locks it so no one stumbles on their conversation.

As she rejoins her husband on the edge of their bed, Tom, still feeling a little emotional, asks "Mom...why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" Mary replies _"Because what good would it have done?"_

Tom replies "It would have given me peace of mind, for one." Mary replies _"Your mind was already at peace when it came to my death. If you were told that I died to protect Nadia, I knew it would devastate you...and I knew it would devastate you as well, Nadia." _As Tom closes his eyes and takes deep breaths to try to compose himself, Nadia looks down and says "Mary, I never asked you to sacrifice yourself for me."

Mary says _"I know you didn't. But what you were undergoing made me physically sick. I can't imagine what your quality of life was like in Soviet custody. I feared for you and I wanted to make sure you were safe along with Tom." _Tom irritatedly says "But you also wanted to keep us apart!"

After some brief silence, Mary says _"I did. I thought if you two never met, then you two could avoid everything you've endured so far, and what would have come with the ultimate prophecy." _Nadia intently asks "Ok, what is the ultimate prophecy? You must still know what it is! It completely changed your purpose for leaving Tom in the first place!"

Mary replies _"The ultimate prophecy...is not relevant anymore." _Tom says "Not relevant? How so? It can't happen anymore?" Mary says _"Not as long as you two keep loving each other and live the new life that you two have dreamed of. You'll have nothing to worry about. It's a good thing the ultimate prophecy remains a secret. Tom, if certain people knew about it, there would be a race to have you killed. Rambaldi followers have good reason to fear what's in the ultimate prophecy. The page you created is destroyed, but probably could be made again. Elena cut off the bottom part of your manuscript and destroyed it, so that makes me the only one that knows how to create the page, so you're safe. I won't say any more about it, though. The secret is safe with me...and safe from people like Arvin Sloane."_

Tom, in a serious tone, asks "Ok, since you're here, I need your honest answer. Did you lie to me about Sloane wanting me killed?" After some silence, Mary replies _"That's not important anymore. Sloane is gone from your lives. That's the important thing."_

Tom dryly says "That's not what I asked." Mary quickly replies _"Listen, this is your wedding day! Why are you wasting your time and emotions on me anyway? Put the picture away and go enjoy the rest of the party! This is your day to celebrate!"_

Tom nods and gets up and puts the picture in a drawer next to the bed. "You're absolutely right, Mom. This is the greatest day of my life...what am I doing stewing over this crap?" Mary's words also appear to have an effect on Nadia, as she starts looking more relieved.

Mary says _"And Nadia, I'm willing to bet this day ranks pretty high for you, too!" _Nadia cracks a sincere smile and says "It's the best day of my life, too. This day has been such a dream come true!" Tom sits next to Nadia and puts her arm around her and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "It's a dream come true for me, too, babe."

Mary then says _"Now, there you go! Before I leave, I just want to say a couple of things. First, Nadia, you look so beautiful today! What a darling dress!" _Nadia smiles wide and says "Thank you, Mary!" Tom then says "She's absolutely right, you're stunning!"

Mary continues. _"Nadia, I just also want to say how proud I am that you're my daughter-in-law. Watching you two has been a joy to behold for me, and I'm so happy that you two finally tied the knot! I just loved the ceremony!" _Tom smiles and says "I knew you were there, watching us." Nadia grabs Tom's hand and says "I knew she was, too."

We hear Mary take a deep breath and say _"And finally...Mike is a great catch for Karen. You have nothing to worry about there, Tom." _Tom just shrugs and says "Hey, what Karen and Mike do is their business..."

Mary laughs and says _"Oh stop! I know that pairing has you worried sick! Well, don't! Mike and Karen is another relationship involving my children that I'd hope to see one day. Oh, and good eye, Nadia! You saw the sparks flying right away!"_ Nadia laughs and says "I did! It was so obvious! They were cute together, actually!"

Mary laughs again and replies _"They were, weren't they? Anyway, I'll let you two go. Nadia, I want you to know that I love you like I would a daughter, and I'm so happy everything is turning out well for you. And Tom...take care of your wife. She's going to need your love these next few months. After all...I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my granddaughter!"_ Tom and Nadia both exchange surprised glances. Nadia then asks "How do you know I'm carrying a girl?"

Mary laughs and replies _"Oh, I don't! I just have a feeling, that's all! Good luck, you two." _Tom says "I love you, Mom. And thank you for being there for Nadia."

Nadia then says "Yes, thank you so much, Mary. I'm forever grateful for all you did for me." Mary simply says _"You're welcome."_

Tom and Nadia both exchange smiling glances. Tom rubs Nadia's back a bit and says "Did you hear that? All we have to do from here on out is just keep loving each other." Nadia returns the back rub by rubbing Tom's back and saying "I think that will be pretty easy!"

Tom then stands up and says "Come on, let's go rejoin our guests." Tom holds out his hand and Nadia grabs it as she gets up to her feet. Before they proceed out of the room, Nadia steals a quick kiss. Tom smiles and says "I love when you do that." Nadia laughs as they exit the bedroom.

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><p>Later that night, Tom, Nadia, Karen, and Mike are saying their final goodbyes at the door. Everyone else has left already.<p>

Karen gives Nadia a hug and says "So, how does it feel to be a Falk? Any regrets yet?" Nadia laughs and says "No! I'm now have a last name that means something!" Karen releases the hug and, with a wide smile, says "I'm so happy to call you my sister-in-law, hon. You'd make my mother so proud!" As she tries to hide a smirk, Nadia says "I know I would...based on what Tom tells me about her anyway!"

Meanwhile, Tom gives Mike a poundhug and says "Thanks again for being my best man." Mike smirks and says "Thanks for not jumping down my throat over Karen." Tom whispers "I know the man you are. You won't break my sister's heart."

Then Tom gets close to Mike's ear and whispers very softly "Oh, and I just talked to my mom a couple hours ago. She approves of you dating my sister." Mike raises his eyebrows and whispers back "Really? Tell her thanks!" Tom shakes his head and says "She probably heard it just now, consider it done. But again, not a word to Karen about my mom...got it?" Mike nods and says "Got it."

As Tom and Mike release the hug, Nadia, in a playfully curious tone, asks "So, when's the first date between you two?" Mike and Karen look at each other, then back at Tom and Nadia. Karen says "Well, turns out I'm not going back to Bunker when I leave here. I'm going to Baltimore with Mike!"

Nadia raises her eyebrows and says "That's pretty courageous for a first date!" Karen laughs and says "What? And have him come down to Bunker and eat at the crappy diner...the only place to eat in town? Please! Besides, it was Mike's idea." Tom looks at Mike funny and asks "Really?" Mike shrugs and says "Yeah, why not? We'll have fun."

Tom laughs a bit and shakes his head. "Ok..." Karen puts her hands on her hips and says "You don't think it's going to go well?" Tom looks over at her and smiles. "Not at all. I hope you two have a good time. Besides..." Tom looks over at Nadia with a smirk, then back at Karen. "I have a feeling my mom would have liked Mike for some reason. She probably would approve of you two going out." Mike grins as Karen laughs and says "That was nice of you to say!"

Mike then opens the door and says "Take care, you two. Congrats again." Tom and Nadia both say "thanks!" Mike lets Karen out first and they close the door.

Tom turns around and looks at the mess that was made from the party. He sighs and says "And now, the cleanup begins." Nadia smiles as she puts her arms around Tom's waist and says "It can wait. We have something left to do tonight!"

Tom looks down at her and asks "And just what might that be?" Nadia starts walking towards the back patio and says "Follow me."

Tom follows Nadia over to the stereo and puts in a CD. Instantly, we hear the opening strains of "All I Want Is You" from U2. Nadia sets the stereo to play the song on repeat, then grabs Tom's hand and walks out to the back patio with him.

The eventually stop in the middle of the patio under a clear, starlit night. The sounds of U2 and the waves crashing in from the sea provide the soundtrack for a nice slow dance.

Nadia stands in front of Tom and puts her arms around Tom's waist and lays her head on his right shoulder. Tom puts his hands on Nadia's lower back and they start their slow dance...just the two of them, along with the stars and the sea.

At first, they say nothing. This is a moment where nothing needs to be said. They both just focus in on themselves and their heart beats pounding as one. They both take a note of their hearts beating in perfect sync, but say nothing. They both smile over that fact, though.

Finally, after a little while, Nadia breaks the silence and says "Tom, do you ever have moments in your life that you wish you could just put in a bottle and save for another day? Moments that you can just open up and experience in times where you need them the most?" Tom replies "Yeah, I do. I wish life worked like that."

Nadia, with her head still on Tom's shoulder, says "This is one of those moments. All the times where I felt alone in the world, I wish I had this moment I'm sharing with you...to remind me that there is someone out there that loves me like you do. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than in your arms right now." Tom cracks a smile and says "I'm loving this too, Nadia. This day makes everything I've been through worth it. I don't want it to end."

Nadia then looks up at Tom and says "I hope we still feel this way about each other 10, 20, 30 years down the road." Tom smiles as he brushes some of her hair back. "We will. Our love has endured gunshots, infections, comas, prison, and even death. It will last the test of time."

Nadia smiles and gives him a small peck on the lips. She then puts her head back on Tom's shoulder to continue the slow dance. A few seconds later, she says "I love you, handsome." Tom rubs Nadia's back a bit and says "I love you, beautiful."

They would dance for about 30 minutes after that before heading to bed.

The rest of their vacation in San Felipe would serve as their honeymoon. Much to their chagrin, the ensuing week would fly by. But, they looked forward to the foundation that they laid for their future on this trip and the prospect of coming back here eventually to start their family.

In this trip, they relaxed, had fun, got married, and picked out the home they would live in for the rest of their lives. Tom got not one, but two job opportunities, and to top it all off, they sent Sloane packing for good.

This was the best vacation either one of them have ever had.

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><p><em>Author note: From what I could find, Nadia's middle name was never revealed. So, I gave her 'Anabella', and for good reason. It means 'Easy to Love'. Plus, I thought it flowed well.<em>

_Another annoying author note: I'd STRONGLY recommend playing "All I Want Is You" during the slow dance. You don't have to...but I thought the song really added a lot to that part of the chapter when I read it back._

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><p><em><strong>Ok, I haven't done any posturing for reviews up until this point, but I really have a lot of hope for this chapter.<em><strong> If there is one chapter that I want you all to enjoy, I really hope it's this one.<strong>_ PLEASE review this, even if you liked it or not! If this sucks, tell me! If it's great, tell me! PLEASE!**_


	38. Ch 37: Glimpses Of The Future

**GLIMPSES OF THE FUTURE**

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><p><em>Note: Another big chapter. Reviews and feedback is always appreciated. Just a few chapters left!<em>

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><p><em><strong>Gynecologist's office- Los Angeles<strong>_

It's been four months since we last left Tom and Nadia Falk in San Felipe on their wedding day. They're back in their meager apartment in LA, but they won't be there for much longer.

After about a month of haggling, Tom was able to buy that four bedroom house on the coast of San Felipe for $185,000. He thinks he got hosed a little bit on the price, but when he asked Nadia if there were any other houses she liked, her silence and death stare at him told him no. So, he swallowed his pride and bought the house.

And now that the fidecomiso, or the escrow process for buying a coastal home in Mexico, has finally completed, all that's left is putting the pen to paper when Tom and Nadia move two weeks from now, taking possession of the keys, and the exchange of money. That last part will take place in a few days.

Tom and Nadia have started some light packing of their belongings. Tom still hasn't decided what he wants to do when he gets down there: San Felipe PD investigations or Mexican bounty hunting. He recently confirmed with both San Felipe Assistant Police Chief Jaime Molina and his ex-Anti Cartel partner Freddie Torres that both job offers are still on the table.

Speaking of Mike Walcott, he still hasn't left the CIA, partly because he's not entirely sure what he wants to do now that his relationship with Karen Falk, Tom's sister, appears to be going very well. All Mike is certain of is that he's leaving Baltimore, and he's trying to get Karen to warm up to the idea of moving to New Mexico so he can be a bounty hunter in Mexico with Freddie and maybe Tom. She's still on the fence, however.

Tom's left arm, which conveniently was a non-issue on their wedding day, has been very bothersome lately. His ailment affects his entire arm right down to the fingers and has not gotten any better since he first noticed it during the wedding vacation in San Felipe. In fact, it has actually just grown worse. 80% of the time now, it hurts in varying degrees. Tom's gotten used to most of the pain, but sometimes, usually once a day, it hurts more than he can handle.

Tom has tried to hide it, mostly out of pride, but Nadia noticed him laboring one day and finally convinced him to have a doctor look at it the other day. They await the results of an MRI and bone scan, but early indications are there's something really afoul going on with the bones in Tom's left arm. No other part of his body hurts, and it doesn't hurt any worse if he lifts something or puts any weight on it. Tom wonders if this is a Project Alloy complication. Still, nothing is certain yet.

Nadia, meanwhile, is showing the world she's pregnant, as she's put on a few pounds since we last saw her and her belly has started to grow. She's on her 20th week of pregnancy, and the effects of pregnancy are starting to affect her a bit. Her appetite has completely exploded, although she is still eating healthy for the most part...save for the occasional junk food binge. She's also having to wear slightly bigger clothes, but hasn't graduated to full-on paternity clothes...yet. In her spare time, she goes on walks and has started doing yoga after Sydney Bristow recommended it.

Tom has been the doting husband that he vowed he'd be when he learned Nadia was pregnant. In fact, his protectiveness over Nadia often forces the two to get into bickering matches. Tom doesn't want Nadia to exert herself needlessly, and this frustrates her. She's always been active and she doesn't enjoy feeling like someone's burden to carry. Tom insists she's not a burden, but has learned to just let Nadia go get a bottle of water on her own if she wants.

Speaking of Nadia's mood, she was very crabby for about a month as her body continued to undergo changes from the pregnancy. Sometimes she'd snap at Tom for doing things that normally wouldn't bug her much, if at all. She'd always apologize to him later, though. By now, Tom's learned to take her mood swings with a grain of salt.

Thankfully, for the both of them, Nadia's mood has been outstanding for the past week. Her hair looks fuller and shinier and her skin even looks like it's glowing. Again, those are normal things during pregnancy, but they're things that give Nadia some encouragement after a harrowing month or so.

Tom is actually liking the changes that Nadia is going through. In addition to Nadia's shampoo commercial-quality hair, he's noticed Nadia's...um, chest has started to grow a bit and he thinks she looks good with her new curves, although Nadia's not the biggest fan of her growing belly and often questions Tom on whether he's just trying to make her feel good. Tom insists he's not.

Tom and Nadia are both relieved they'll be moving in to their new house soon. Not just because of the fact that they both know the move will symbolically start their next chapter in their lives, but also because their apartment has become a repository for Sydney's discarded baby stuff and space has become an issue.

Sydney has been extremely helpful during Nadia's pregnancy, frequently checking up on her and offering up clothes and other things that she no longer needs as her baby Isabelle grows. Nadia has also appreciated Sydney's advice very much. So has Tom, as he's learning how to best take care of Nadia through some of the things Sydney is saying.

And now, we rejoin Tom and Nadia in the gynecologist's office. Nadia is in a hospital gown and in the process of getting an ultrasound while Tom is off to her right. They both are looking on at the screen with great hope.

The ultrasound technician moves her wand around on Nadia's belly, which is coated in petroleum jelly. Finally, she stops when she sees the baby.

When the legs, arms and head appear on the screen, Tom and Nadia's eyes both widen a bit. The technician says "There's your baby!" Tom and Nadia both look at each other with smiles, then back at the screen as the technician examines the image some more and gets some readings.

After a bit, the technician says "Looks like your child is doing just fine...everything looks normal! It's about the size of a banana now, which is just perfect for this stage!" The technician then turns away from her laptop screen and looks at Tom and Nadia. "Would you two like to know the sex?"

Tom raises his eyebrows and says "You know already?" The technician smiles and says "I'm 99.9% sure of what it is."

Tom turns down to Nadia and asks "Do you want to know or do you want it to be a surprise?" Nadia replies "What do you think?" Tom cautiously replies "Well, I'd like to know now, but it's up to you." Nadia smiles and turns to the technician. "Ok, what is it?"

The technician smiles wide and says "It's a girl."

Tom and Nadia both gasp and form excited and happy looks on their faces. Nadia exclaims "I'm going to have a girl!" Tom puts his arm around Nadia and gives her a kiss on the cheek and says "I know it's what you were hoping for. I'm happy for you."

The technician says "I'll go print up a picture for you. Congratulations!" Tom and Nadia both say "Thanks!" The technician then walks out of the room.

The first thing Tom does after the tech leaves the room is say "My mother's hunch was right...she thought you were carrying her granddaughter." Nadia looks up at Tom and curiously asks "Are you sure it was a hunch?"

Tom looks at her strangely and asks "What do you mean?" Nadia replies "Well, this wouldn't be the first time she's fibbed to you. Maybe she knew more than she was letting on."

Tom thinks about that for a bit, then just shrugs it off and says "Who knows..." Tom looks back down at Nadia and says "What matters is we're going to raise a little girl!" Nadia sighs as she holds Tom's hand and says "I know you were hoping for Tom Junior..."

Tom shakes his head and says "So what? Boy...girl...it's still our child! And now that we know what it is...we can start thinking about names!" Nadia smiles wide and says "Plus, I'll know to paint her nursery pink when we move in to our house! And Sydney's been dying to know what it is so she can give us Isabelle's baby clothes that she's outgrown!"

Tom kisses Nadia's hand and says "I'm happy we're having a girl. I can already imagine you and our girl doing girlie things together." Nadia giggles and says "Yeah, I've already been daydreaming about that! Playing dress up, showing her how to put on makeup...now I _really_ can't wait to welcome our child into the world! Only another four months!"

The technician walks back in and hands Nadia the ultrasound picture. Tom and Nadia look at it and smile. This is the first picture they have of their girl with arms, legs, and a head. The technician says "You can get dressed now and after that, you're free to go!" The technician walks out.

Tom follows her, but before he leaves, he stops at the door and asks "Is Sydney off work? She'll probably want to see that." Nadia grins and says "Yeah, in fact, she's waiting for us! We'll go there when we leave!"

Tom smiles and says "Ok, mommy!" Nadia laughs and asks "Why do you always call me that? I'm your wife, not your mom!" Tom, still smiling, replies "I just want you to get used to being called mommy! You're going to be called that a lot in the coming years!" Nadia playfully shoos him away as she stands up and says "Oh, just go, you fool! I'll meet you in the waiting room in a bit!" Tom laughs a bit as he closes the door and heads to the waiting room while Nadia gets dressed.

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><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's apartment<strong>_

It's nighttime and Nadia sits on the edge of their bed, already dressed in her nightgown and looking at the assortment of baby clothes that Sydney was kind enough to donate to them today, now that they know they're having a girl.

Tom walks into the bedroom and Nadia holds up a small pink one-piece outfit with the word "Diva" spelled out in little sparkles. With a smile, she says "Isn't this so cute?" Tom rolls his eyes and says "We're going to give our little girl an inflated ego right off the bat, I see..."

Nadia ignores Tom's comment as she puts down the outfit and says "Our baby is going to be so better dressed than I was when I grew up in the orphanage. Our clothing was so generic...it's amazing the options she will have..." Tom snickers a bit as he takes off his shirt and says "Yeah, I'm sure you just dreamed of wearing a pink onesie that told the world that you were an egomaniac!"

Nadia dismissively says "Come on, it's all in fun! Besides, being a diva doesn't mean you just have an inflated opinion of yourself. Divas are also talented singers!" Tom laughs a bit and says "That's one way of looking at it...maybe we should get our kid into singing classes."

Nadia shrugs and says "I can teach her myself..." Tom sits down next to her and says "I'm sure you can, but it's hard to sing in a choir all by yourself!"

Nadia's face brightens up and says "Yeah, and just think of all the friends she's going to have when she joins the choir! And all the sleepovers we'll host..." Tom looks down at the floor and sighs. "Yeah, a bunch of little girls running and screaming around the house...oh joy..."

Nadia rubs Tom's back and says "Oh, it won't be so bad!" Tom looks back up at Nadia and smiles. "We've both been through worse."

Nadia then realizes something and says "Hey, maybe I can get get involved in choir, too. I'm sure the Mission San Felipe has an adult choir!" Tom smirks and says "You want to get the golden pipes going again, babe?"

Nadia laughs and says "Yes! Plus, me and our girl can practice singing together. It'll be nice to be involved in something our child is doing." Tom puts his arm around Nadia and says "I think that's a great idea, Nadia. Now come on, let's get ready for bed. I'm sure you're wanting a backrub right about now." Nadia smiles and, as she leans in for a kiss, says "You read my mind!" Nadia then gives Tom a peck on the lips and gets up to put away the clothes.

Tom crawls into bed on the right side and, not too long after, Nadia joins him on the left. She leans on her side and faces away from Tom. He lifts up the back of her gown so he can start the backrub.

After a few seconds of massaging, Nadia closes her eyes and cracks a relaxed smile looks like she's really enjoying the massage Tom is giving her. In a deep, relaxed voice, she asks "This feels soooo good...why didn't you ever massage me before I was pregnant?" Tom, still massaging Nadia's mid-back, replies "You never asked!"

Nadia then playfully asks "Why do I have to ask? You could have offered out of the kindness of your heart..." Tom cuts her off and says "You never had back pain before, so I figured you were satisfied."

Nadia, still in a very relaxed mood, replies "I wish I had asked now...you do such a good job!" Tom smiles and gives Nadia a kiss on her back and says "I'm not going to half-ass a massage for my beautiful, pregnant wife. Besides, I figure if you're relaxed, that can only help our baby girl."

As Tom continues the massage, Nadia says "I'm so glad we're going to give our child every opportunity to have a happy childhood. What I'd give to have the kind of life she'll have when I was growing up." Tom replies "I know what you mean. In fact, I'm almost jealous! It was a real burden on my grandparents to raise me, Eddie, and Karen at their old age. My grandpa Ed even had to get out of retirement and go back to work for a few years at the factory just to provide for us."

Nadia then says "I know that's why you wanted so badly to be at this point. And we'll give her a good life with the money you have." Tom then moves his massaging hands back up to Nadia's upper back and, as he does, says "I wasn't driven to save up my legit salary and skim money from cartel raids just for our kid, Nadia. I wanted to be able to take care of the woman I love as well. You're as much of a part of my dream as our child, and you deserve the best environment possible to raise our child, too." Nadia closes her eyes and smiles wide. "I'm glad to be a part of that dream."

After a few more minutes of massaging, Nadia calmly says "Ok, I'm good now." Tom asks "Are you sure? I can keep going..." Nadia shakes her head and says "No, you've done plenty. I feel great now!"

Tom stops the massage and lies down on his side facing Nadia. Nadia slowly and carefully rolls over and lies on her side to face Tom. Nadia quickly gives Tom a peck on the lips and says "Thanks for the massage. Your fingers are magic!" Tom smiles back and says "Thanks for liking it!"

Nadia giggles a bit, then seriously says "Ok, I was thinking about names for our baby...and as I was thinking, there was only one name that seemed appropriate." Tom leans up on his right hand and inquisitively asks "What did you have in mind?"

Nadia simply replies "Mary." Tom forms a look of surprise and says "Really? You want to name our girl after my mom?"

Nadia rubs Tom's shoulder a bit and says "It'd be the best way we could honor her. I have nothing but the highest respect for your mother for all she's done for us, and I know you love her, too. I think she'd appreciate the gesture as well." Tom replies "I'm touched you would consider that."

Tom looks away and ponders Nadia's name choice. It's a pretty good idea. As he thinks about how Mary and Nadia would go together, the gears in his mind start to turn. He starts going back and forth: _"Nadia, Mary. Mary, Nadia. Mar...ia. Maria!" _His eyes bug out as he connects those final dots.

Tom looks back at Nadia and excitedly asks "What about Maria?" Nadia thinks for a bit, then asks "Why Maria?"

Tom smiles and says "Because, it'd be the best way to honor my favorite two women! Maria would combine the 'Mar-' in Mary and the '-ia' in your name. Mary...Nadia...Maria! Plus, since our girl is going to grow up in Mexico, she'd fit in having a name that's popular down there." Nadia thinks about it for a bit, then gives Tom a confident smile and says "I like it, let's go with that!"

Tom then sits upright it bed and lies back down on his left side and positions himself so his head is next to Nadia's belly. Tom rubs Nadia's belly a bit and talks to it like he's talking to the baby. "Hey, did you hear that? You have a name now! You're Maria Falk!" Nadia giggles at Tom conversing with her belly and says "I think she'll like it!"

Tom looks back up at Nadia and asks "What about a middle name?" Nadia says "Hmm...what do you think?"

Tom replies "Well, I know it's popular for girls to take their mother's maiden name as their middle." Nadia shakes her head. "Santos meant nothing to me. I don't want that for Maria's middle name."

Tom and Nadia both rack their brains a bit, trying to think of a middle name. Tom then asks "How about...Maria Sydney Falk?" Nadia, a little astonished, replies "You want to use my sister's name as her middle name?"

Tom shrugs and says "Why not? Look at what Sydney has done for the both of us. I don't need to remind you of the role she has in your life, and me and her became close when she kept checking up on me in prison. I think this would be a great way to honor her!" Nadia then shakes her head and says "I know my sister. She'll probably think the gesture is too extreme."

Tom sighs and says "You know, you're probably right. She's too modest." Nadia thinks for a bit, then a light bulb goes off in her head. "What was your grandmother's name again?" Tom quickly replies "Which?" Nadia replies "The one that helped raise you." Tom says "Violet."

Nadia then thinks for a bit, then says "Maria Violet...I like that! What do you think?" Tom swishes 'Maria Violet' in his head for a bit, then nods assuringly. "Yeah, it does have a good ring to it, actually. Maria Violet Falk it is, then?" Nadia smiles wide and says "Yeah!"

Tom turns back to Nadia's belly and, as he caresses it some more, says "Maria Violet Falk...what do you think about..." Tom gasps and opens his eyes in shock as as he feels something on Nadia's belly. He looks back at Nadia and says "Did you feel that?" Nadia, now looking a little curious, says "I thought I felt a tickle just..."

Nadia then gasps when she feels something again. She realizes what it is and excitedly says "Maria's moving!" Tom happily laughs a bit as he grabs Nadia's right hand and places it on her belly. Together, they feel the flutters and vibrations coming from Nadia's belly, signifying that Maria is indeed moving.

As the good vibrations continue, Nadia happily laughs and says "This is amazing! I can finally feel our baby moving!" Tom laughs as well and says "I guess all we had to do is give her a name!"

Nadia quickly sits up and looks down at her belly. As she caresses her belly and feels a few more flutters, she feels almost euphoric over Maria's movements. In a calm, loving tone, she says "That's right, you've gotten so big, I can feel you move now, Maria! Mommy loves you!" Tom gives Nadia's belly a kiss and says "And your daddy loves you, too!"

Tom then sits up and gives Nadia a hug. Nadia, still feeling giddy, says "I've looked forward to the day I could feel my baby! This is so great!" Tom gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek and says "What a day! We find out we're having girl, we gave her a name, and we felt her move for the first..."

Tom suddenly releases the hug and quickly grabs his left arm in pain. Coming out of nowhere, very sharp pains shoot down his left arm, causing him to growl and grimace painfully. As he's hunched over, trying to deal with the pain, Nadia's face turns worried and says "Oh no...how bad is it this time?" Tom, through his gritting teeth, says "BAD!"

Tom turns away from Nadia and hangs his feet over the bed and hunches over some more. His breaths are deep and quick as the pain continues. Nadia looks distraught over Tom's agony and says "And you were doing so good today with that..." Tom, frustrated from the pain, replies "And of all the times it flares up, it's when we're enjoying our baby's development! Dammit!"

After a few seconds, Tom starts to relax a bit as the shooting pains slowly come to stop, like the end of a horrible carnival ride. Nadia scoots over to Tom and puts her arm around him to try to comfort him. While she does, she asks "Tom, I don't understand...why won't you take anything for the pain?" Tom, still breathing heavily from his bout with pain, looks up at her with a determined look. "Because I can handle it. This is something that's not going to kill me, therefore I don't need pills."

As Nadia continues to show concern over her husband, Tom moves his left fingers around to try to get rid of the temporary numbness that developed with this latest bout. He finally lets out a deep breath and relaxes, then says "Ok, it's over. Let's go to bed." Nadia nods as she crawls over to her side of the bed and lies down on her side, facing Tom as he lies on his side and faces her back.

Tom's face looks a little rankled from his latest bout with pain. Nadia puts her right hand on Tom's face and says "I really wish you would take something for the pain...it bothers me seeing you hurt so much! Why won't you take any prescriptions?" Tom snaps back "Because I didn't need prescriptions when I recovered from Project Alloy and I don't need them now!"

Nadia recoils her hand and says "Please don't yell at me, I just care about you." Tom relaxes and solemnly says "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that." Tom, seeing as Nadia's a little hurt now, takes a deep breath and says "Nadia...do you really want to know why I don't take painkillers?" Nadia opens her eyes and insistently says "Yes! Please tell me! It kills me to see you go through this every day!"

Tom thinks about how he's going to word this, then finally says "My father had an addictive personality. And I inherited that same glitch from him. When I was drinking myself into oblivion when you went in a coma, my mom felt the only way I could survive was throwing me in prison...an environment where alcohol wouldn't be accessible. I can handle alcohol if it's socially, but I always feel like I'm walking a tightrope." Nadia puts her hand on Tom's shoulder and says "Tom, I'm here for you, you know that! If you ever need help..."

Tom shakes his head and says "That shouldn't be your job. You have enough on your plate carrying our child than to be babysitting a potential addict. I don't take painkillers because I'm afraid of them, Nadia. I'm afraid I'll become addicted to them." Nadia then says "But, you've never _really_ been addicted to anything! How do you know..."

Tom closes his eyes and forms a look of remorse. Yes, he has been addicted to something. And he just remembered that he hasn't told Nadia about another dark part of his past. Nadia, now noticing Tom's trepidation, asks "Tom, what is it?"

With his eyes still closed, he remorsefully says "In 1993, I was addicted to heroin." This surprises Nadia a lot. She leans her head up off the pillow and says "What? You never told me about this!"

Tom opens his eyes and says "I never told you because I was too ashamed to say it, and quite frankly it's something I prefer to simply forget. But, I don't want you to think your husband is this weak, fragile man." Nadia, still somewhat surprised about this news, asks "You're not! But why did you get addicted to heroin?"

Tom sighs and says "I was given my first lead assignment in the Anti-Cartel: set up this Los Angeles gang on major drug charges. Twice a week, I'd meet with this gang, posing as a supplier, and I would supply them with heroin. We had to keep the deals going over a long period of time for us to nail them on some stiff federal charges. We wanted to cripple these guys. The operation lasted six months, and the deals always went down as planned."

Tom then shakes his head in dismay and says "What the Anti-Cartel didn't know was that this gang forced me to test the supply in front of them to make sure it wasn't spiked or anything. At first, it wasn't so bad, I could tolerate it. But, as time went on...I went further and further down the rabbit hole. I'd last until our meet-up days, but soon, I needed my fix more frequently. Soon, it became daily. Soon after that, it became twice daily. I would literally count down the minutes and even seconds until I could be freed from work so I could get my heroin fix." Nadia, now troubled over what she's hearing, shakes her head and asks "Why didn't you ever tell anyone at work about your addiction?"

Tom replies "Because I didn't want to fail my first assignment. Had my superiors known what was happening with me, they would have pulled the plug on the whole thing, and I was afraid I'd be left with egg on my face. Anyway...one day, Mike came over to my place and we were gonna go out and do something with our girlfriends that night. However, I had lost my keys. He helped me look for them...and when he looked underneath our bed, he found a box that I kept my heroin and needles in. I had kept my addiction a secret from everyone up until that point. When Mike found out, he was troubled. When I told him why I was an addict, Mike threatened to rat me out to my bosses. Thankfully, by then, we had done enough deals to easily nail this gang on some stiff charges. It wasn't the full monty that we wanted, but enough to satisfy Eduardo Munoz. So, the next day, I suggested that we go ahead and bust these guys. The day after that, we did, and long sentences were handed out later. The mission was a success...but I was still a wreck. Me and Mike met privately with Eduardo and we all agreed that it'd be best if I check myself into outpatient rehab and kept my problem on the down-low from everyone else. The next few months were some of the scariest months of my life...fighting the urges...wishing I could die if I didn't get my fix..."

Nadia then puts her hand on Tom's shoulder and says "Tom...I'm so sorry I kept pestering you about painkillers. I had no idea..." Tom puts his hand on Nadia's side and says "It's ok, Nadia. You didn't know. But, now you know why I'm so afraid of pills. I don't ever want to go down that rabbit hole again."

Tom then slides his hand down Nadia's side and starts caressing her belly. "I'm so happy Maria is going to have you for her mother. She's going to have your strength..." Nadia squeezes Tom's shoulder and insistently says "She's going to have OUR strength!" Tom looks back up at Nadia and says "No. You're the strong and balanced one among us. There's so many things I admire about you, Nadia, but your strength ranks right up there at the top."

Nadia sighs, then says "I appreciate you saying that...but you're selling yourself short if you think you're weak. We both have our faults, and one of the biggest reasons we have each other is so we can lean on one another in our times of weakness. Tom, please, PLEASE, get some pain medication for your arm! I hate seeing you suffer needlessly! And listen, I'll make sure you don't abuse whatever you take. It won't take more than a few seconds out of my day to make sure of that. Caring about you is never a burden for me. I love you, and as much as you like seeing me smile, I like seeing you smile, too!"

Tom cracks a small smile, which causes Nadia to giggle a bit and say "Come on! I know there's a bigger one in there!" Tom then laughs and smiles wide, much to Nadia's delight. As she laughs, she says "There it is!"

Tom leans in and gives Nadia a kiss. After a few seconds, they release. Tom rubs Nadia's shoulder a bit and says "I'll talk to my doctor tomorrow and see if he can prescribe me anything." Nadia, now completely relieved, says "Thank you."

Tom then looks back down at Nadia's belly again. "You know, since we're talking about each other's faults...you do realize that Maria's going to be one feisty kid, right?" Nadia asks "Why do you say that?"

Tom looks back up at Nadia. "Come on! Me and you were hellraisers growing up! We were always angry..." Nadia puts her hand over Tom's mouth and says "Stop. We were angry because we had good reasons to be angry. We both wanted our parents in our lives, and because they weren't, we grew up in less than ideal situations. But Maria is going to grow up in a happy, loving home and will be in a perfect position to succeed in life. Me and you have no reason to be angry anymore, which tells me we weren't born to be angry at life. Maria won't either."

Tom smiles and says "You're right. In two weeks, when we move into our home, our biggest worry will be what's for dinner!" Nadia laughs and says "And when the sunrise and sunsets will be! I can't wait until we finally go home!"

Tom then leans in and says "If we both go to sleep right now, then we'll be home that much quicker!" Nadia looks at him funny and asks "You don't want sex?" Tom blankly replies "Do you?" Nadia sighs and says "You're right, we should get some sleep." Tom grumbles "Dammit..." Nadia lightly giggles and says "I'm sorry...but I am a little tired." Tom smiles and says "I understand. I love you, beautiful." Nadia smiles back and says "I love you, handsome!"

Tom and Nadia give each other a long kiss, and then, when they release, Tom asks "Do you think we should find new nicknames besides 'beautiful' and 'handsome'?" Nadia immediately replies "No! Your nickname is perfect!" Tom gives Nadia a flattered smile and says "And yours is still perfect for you."

They give each other another peck on the lips, then turn over to turn out their bedside lights. They turn back to face each other and each whisper "Good night" at the same time, followed by some laughing over their perfect timing before they close their eyes and go to sleep.

* * *

><p><em><strong>San Felipe...?<strong>_

Tom finds himself sitting in his car. It's parked in the driveway of their home in San Felipe. Tom looks outside and sees it's a bright, sunny day. Tom immediately notices it's not so hot outside...must be winter time.

Tom looks over to the right seat and sees a couple stacks of Mexican pesos. On top of the pesos is a Mexican government letter. Tom picks up the letter and sees it's a letter congratulating him, Freddie Torres, and Mike Walcott on apprehending Gustavo Diaz, a man that was wanted on a $1 million Mexican peso bounty on a laundry list of rape charges.

Tom looks at the stack of money and starts counting the stacks. There's 6 $50,000 peso stacks, followed by a lone smaller stack. Tom thumbs through that stack and counts $33,333 in Mexican pesos. His share was an equal third of the 1 million peso bounty.

Tom smiles wide. $333,333 in Mexican pesos is about the equivalent of almost $25,000 in US dollars. _"That's much of Maria's college education right there on my seat"_ Tom thinks.

Tom grabs an empty bag from the back seat and fills it up with the bounty money. How he knew that bag would be there...who knows. This is his dream after all. He then steps out of the car and walks up to the front porch.

Nadia's standing on the porch and smiles wide when she sees him. She's still got her long, flowing black hair and we see it blowing in the wind along with her light green summer dress that she's wearing. We immediately see she's no longer pregnant and back in her normal, great shape.

Tom walks up to the porch and Nadia walks over and gives him a kiss that lasts for a few seconds. After she's done, she says "Welcome back, handsome!" Tom smiles and says "Glad to be back, beautiful."

Nadia looks inside and says "I have a surprise for you!" Tom rolls his eyes and says "What is with you and surprises?"

Nadia just ignores him as she giggles and walks in the front door. Tom follows her in.

Tom stands in their living room. From around the corner, we hear a little girl yell "DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!" followed by the sound of feet running down the hallway.

And then...Tom lays his eyes on his daughter Maria as she rounds the corner and scampers towards him. Tom smiles wide as gets on one knee and lets a beaming Maria dive into him for a hug. They both embrace each other tightly, both happy to see each other and both not wanting to let the other go.

Maria is about 4, maybe 5 years old and is dressed in a pretty white dress. Before Maria dove into his arms, Tom noticed she looked all dolled up. Her long black hair was all styled, with two butterfly barrettes on the top of her head. She also had put on makeup and lipstick.

In short, Maria looks adorably perfect.

Tom releases the hug and leans back so he can look at Maria's dark blue eyes. He sees that Maria has taken after Nadia mostly, but she did inherit Tom's eyes and eye shape. He also notices a pair of tiny diamond earrings on Maria's ears. Tom, as he admires his daughter, exclaims "Look at you! You're so beautiful!" Maria shakes her head and says "Nooooo! Mommy says I'm gorgeous!"

Tom laughs and says "You're pretty, you're beautiful, you're gorgeous, you're all those things! You did this all by yourself?" Maria giggles and says "Nuh-uh! Mommy helped me!"

Tom looks up at Nadia, who's now standing behind Maria. Nadia smiles wide and says "She wanted to look special for when you got back!" Tom looks back down at Maria and says "Well, you and your mommy did a great job. Now, what do we tell her?" Maria turns around and says "Thank you, mommy!" Nadia warmly smiles and says "You're welcome, Maria!"

Maria then turns back to Tom, who's still on one knee so he can look her eye-to-eye. With noticeable sadness in her voice, she asks "I missed you, daddy. Where did you go?" Tom gives Maria a moved smile and says "I was going after a really bad man."

Maria quickly asks "Did you get him?" Tom smiles wide and says "I got him! He won't hurt anyone no more." Maria looks down and, despite still feeling sad, says "That's good..."

Maria then slowly leans in and gives her father another hug. As she holds on to him like she's never going to let him go, she sadly says "I wish you didn't have to go away..." Tom calmly says "I wasn't gone that long..." Nadia corrects him. "You were gone for two weeks."

Tom flashes her a surprised look as he keeps hugging Maria. He mouths "Two weeks?" in shock. Nadia nods and, in a calming voice, says "You had some trouble finding this bad man. You didn't expect to be gone so long."

Maria releases the hug and, as she looks intently in Tom's eyes, says "You said you'd be right back!" Tom now looks troubled and says "I'm sorry...things didn't go the way your daddy planned! I missed you so much, too! But your daddy had to finish what he started!" Maria just hangs her head and looks dejected.

Tom, noticing Maria still feels bad about him being away, gently puts his hands on her shoulders. With a strong hint of sadness in his voice, he says "Do you know why I go away to catch bad guys?" Maria, still looking down at the ground, wonderingly asks "Why?" Tom replies "So you can feel safe when you're tucked into bed at night. And other little girls can feel safe when they go to sleep, too!"

Maria still looks down and asks "Why do YOU have to do it? Why can't someone else do it?" Tom insistently, but calmly says "Maria, look at me." Maria looks up at Tom's eyes. Tom smiles wide and calmly says "Because they're not as good as your daddy is at catching bad guys."

Maria insistently says "But...but you could get hurt!" Tom shakes his head and confidently says "I'm bulletproof. No one can hurt your daddy." Maria cautiously cracks a smile and, her mood improving after what Tom just told her, asks "You promise?" Tom kisses Maria on her forehead and says "I promise, sweetheart. I'll always come home."

Maria smiles wider and, now reassured, gives Tom a hug around his neck and gives him a kiss on the cheek, accentuating it with a "MWAH!" Tom laughs as he hugs Maria back and says "Why thank you, Maria!" Maria, still clutching at Tom's neck, says "I love you, daddy!" Tom rubs Maria's back and says "I love you too, Maria."

Nadia, who looks touched seeing her husband and daughter interacting, asks Maria "Hey, why don't you tell daddy what you learned in school!" Maria releases the hug, steps back and, in surprisingly good Spanish, says "Hola, me llama María! ¿Como te llamas? (Hello, my name is Maria! What is your name?)" Tom laughs and replies "Me llamo Tom! Mucho gusto! (My name is Tom! Pleased to meet you!)" Maria giggles, apparently understanding Tom's Spanish.

Tom looks up at Nadia and asks "They're teaching her Spanish already?" Nadia nods and says "Yeah, kids can learn second languages easier when they're her age. We knew she'd have to learn it eventually considering it's the native language here!" Maria then says "My teacher says...I'll meet new friends because I will understand them now!"

Tom smiles as he looks back at Maria and says "Of course they will! Plus, you'll be so smart, too!" Maria excitedly says "Daddy, I made something for you at school!" Before Tom can ask what she did, Maria runs off towards her bedroom. Tom looks at Nadia as he stands up and asks "Ok, what did our daughter do?" Nadia smiles and says "She made you a little picture. She's so proud of it!"

Nadia then looks down at the bag next to Tom's legs and asks "How much is in there?" Tom smirks and says "$333,333 in Mexican pesos. Gustavo Diaz was worth a cool million to the Mexican government." Nadia picks up the bag and, with a smile, says "I'll go put it in the safe!"

Tom then grabs Nadia's arm and stops Nadia from turning down the hallway. Seeing as he's dreaming, he feels the need to ask "Nadia, am I going away on jobs too much?" Nadia shakes her head. "No. You only do a couple jobs a year. Normally, they don't take this long. This guy ran you three all over Mexico."

Tom sighs and asks "Maria was crushed that I was gone so long." Nadia gives him a reassuring smile and says "It's ok, she seems to understand." Tom, with noticeable doubt in his voice, asks "Did I make the right choice taking this job over the San Felipe PD job?"

Before Nadia can answer, Maria comes running back down the hallway with a picture. With a large smile, she hands Tom the picture. We see it's a crayon drawing with Tom, Nadia, and Maria standing in on a beach holding hands. We also see Sydney, Vaughn, and Isabelle (who by now isn't a baby anymore) standing to their right as well. For a girl her age, it's a surprisingly good drawing.

Tom smiles as he looks back at Maria and says "This is great, Maria! Good job!" Maria tells him "My teacher...Miss Cortez...told us to draw whatever we wanted. Soooo, I drew my family!" Tom rubs Maria on the shoulder and says "Well, you made a great choice. Let's go put this on the fridge! Auntie Sydney, Uncle Michael, and your cousin Isabelle will like to see it when they come down!" Maria proudly says "Ok!"

Tom then lifts up Maria and lets her sit on her right arm. She wraps her left arm around Tom's neck for support as they walk down the hallway. Nadia, meanwhile, already had walked away with the bounty money.

Tom walks up to the fridge and tells Maria "Go pick a magnet!" Maria reaches over and picks a soccer ball magnet from the fridge. Tom sets the picture on the fridge and says "Ok, slap the magnet on!" Maria takes that literally and forcefully slaps the magnet on the picture. Tom steps back and admires the picture with Maria, then says "There, now everyone will see what a great artist you are!" Maria lets out a flattered giggle and blushes a little bit.

Nadia walks back from the hallway and notices the picture on the fridge. "Hey, that picture looks good there!" Maria proudly says "I know mommy! Everyone can see it now!" Nadia walks up and gives Maria a kiss on the cheek as Tom holds her. She then gives Tom a quick kiss on the lips and says "I'll get dinner going." Tom and Maria both smile and say "Ok" at the same time. Tom and Maria look at each other and laugh at their timing, as does Nadia, since saying things at the same time is normally her and her husband's trademark.

As Nadia walks away to start dinner, Tom squats down and sets Maria down. Instead of walking away, Maria turns to Tom and gives him another hug around his neck. Happily, she says "I'm glad your home, daddy!" Tom smiles wide and says "I'm glad I'm home too, Maria."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's apartment<strong>_

Tom wakes up with a giant smile on his face. He's now on his side, facing the other way from where Nadia would be. It's now 7:30 in the morning, and Tom is in bed alone.

Thinking she's next to him, Tom sleepily says "Hey Nadia, I had the best dream just now..." Tom rolls over and looks surprised to see Nadia isn't there. Tom, a little concerned, quickly throws the covers off of him and walks out of bed. She's usually not up this early.

He walks out to the living room and sees Nadia humming a pleasant song while getting breakfast going. She's still in her nightgown and looks like she just woke up recently herself. Tom notices that Nadia seems really in to whatever song she's humming and just has a pleasant demeanor this morning. He smiles at Nadia's pleasant mood and recalls how far she's come along since they met in APO. He likes seeing Nadia without her having a worry in the world.

Tom, as he stretches, says "Good morning!" Nadia stops humming as she looks over at him and, with a wide smile, says "Good morning!"

Tom finishes stretching and walks over to the kitchen to join Nadia. As he does, Nadia merrily says "You looked like you were enjoying yourself when I woke up. You had the biggest smile on your face..." Tom chuckles a bit and says "I just had the best dream ever!"

Nadia curiously asks "Was I in it?" Tom gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek and says "Of course! But, you weren't the star of my dream." Nadia rolls her eyes and sarcastically says "You were, I take it."

Tom smiles as he puts his arms around Nadia and places his hands on her pregnant belly. "No, our daughter was." Nadia looks back and looks intrigued now. "Really?" Tom nods and says "Yeah. You should have seen Maria, she was a little angel!"

Nadia goes back to focusing on the eggs she's cooking and asks "So, what did she look like?" Tom rocks Nadia side to side in his arms and says "Well, you helped her put on this beautiful white dress...she had her long, black hair all done nice..." Nadia raises her eyebrows and says "She has black hair...I was guessing he'd be a blonde like her dad!"

Tom stops the rocking and responds "She took mostly after you, but she had my eyes." Nadia turns around to face Tom and says "You mean, those pretty dark blue eyes of yours?" Tom cracks a flattered smile and says "Yeah, she took the best features of us both." Nadia says "But you said she only took your eyes." Tom smirks and says "Exactly." Nadia, getting that he was giving her a compliment, laughs a bit and gives Tom a kiss on the lips. When she's done, she says "Even your dreams are sweet!"

Tom then walks over to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup of coffee. Nadia, meanwhile goes back to fixing breakfast.

As Tom pours a cup, he asks "How did you sleep, babe?" Nadia shrugs and says "Fine." Tom looks over at her as he sets the coffee pot back on the burner and asks "Did our daughter wake you with her moving around?"

Nadia smiles as she flips an egg and says "No. But, I just felt her a little while ago. We must have made her really giddy last night, she hasn't moved like that since then." Tom stands there and admires her for a bit. Nadia notices the silence and looks over and notices Tom just gazing at her. Nadia asks "Is everything alright?" Tom shakes his head and says "Everything's perfect. It's amazing how, even bright and early in the morning, you still look so radiant."

Nadia gives him a flattered smile and says "Starting with the compliments a little early today?" Tom shrugs and says "Why not? Besides, I was always told growing up to tell the truth to the people you care about."

Nadia smiles wide as she goes back to her breakfast. As she does, she says "I knew when I was told I was pregnant that you'd be a good partner during my term. But, I was wrong." Tom, a little concerned, asks "How so?" Nadia turns to Tom and sincerely says "You've been amazing. I know I was rough on you for a while there, but you've been so good to me. You're making this pregnancy so easy to handle...just like you make life easy to handle. You don't know how much I appreciate your help."

Tom gives Nadia a touched smile, then mockingly says "Starting with the compliments a little early today?" Nadia laughs and says "Hey, what's that old saying? It takes two to tango!"

Tom walks up behind Nadia and gives her a kiss on the neck. "I'm glad you're my tango partner in life. And don't worry about wondering if I appreciate your thanks. It's the little things you do every day that remind me of that." Nadia turns and says "Speaking of little things, you have to call the doctor today."

Tom's enthusiasm gets sucked out of him as he walks away from Nadia towards the living room. He merely says "Fine" as he walks towards the couch. Nadia worriedly says "Tom, don't make this difficult. Needing help for your pain isn't weakness."

Tom flops down on the couch and flatly says "I know, I'll get it done, don't worry." Nadia then says "Look, I'll hold on to the pills and give them to you as you need them." Tom rolls his eyes and says "Nadia, that really isn't necessary!" Nadia sighs and says "I'm just trying to help..."

Tom cracks a small, calming smile and says "I know you are. It's just...that's a little extreme. I probably made too much out of it last night, like I do a lot of things. Besides, I know you won't let me do anything stupid when I get the pills. I'll be fine." Nadia cracks a small smile herself and says "Ok. But, let's keep them in the bathroom so we both know where they are."

Nadia then scoops up the finished eggs and sets them on the plates next to buttered-up toast. She then walks out with the plates and hands Tom his plate. As Nadia sits down next to him, Tom looks at the plate, then at Nadia and says "Looks good, babe. As usual!" Nadia smiles and says "Thanks. I know you're probably getting tired of eggs by now, but the protein and choline in them will help the baby."

Tom looks at Nadia funny and asks "What's choline?" Nadia replies "I read about it online a while ago. Choline supposedly helps improve a baby's memory if you eat eggs a lot during pregnancy."

Tom laughs and says "How appropriate we're talking about Maria's memory! In my dream, she was 4, maybe 5 years old and was already speaking English _and_ Spanish!" Nadia takes a bite of her breakfast, then asks "What else was in your dream?"

Tom replies "Well, in addition to Maria looking like an angel, she was also upset I was gone so long." Nadia asks "Why were you gone?"

Tom takes a bite of his breakfast, then says "Well, apparently, I had trouble locating this serial rapist that me, Freddie, and Mike were trying to track down for a 1-million peso bounty. I was gone for two weeks." Nadia nods and says "So, you were a bounty hunter in your dream."

Tom sighs and says "Yeah. And that's something else we need to talk about. I'm still torn on what I want to do when we get to San Felipe. Being a part-time investigator with the San Felipe PD means I'll be home every night and there'd be less risk on my life, but it's not very lucrative or exciting. Bounty hunting will force me away from home for stretches of time..." Nadia quickly says "But, you'd still be home a lot."

Tom looks over at Nadia and defeatedly asks "Nadia, what should I do?" Nadia looks over at him surprised and asks "Why are you asking me? I told you I'd be fine with whatever you chose."

Tom says "I know...it's just I'm trying to do right for our kid and you. My heart wants me to bounty hunt, but at the same time, while it's more lucrative, it's also riskier." Nadia smiles suddenly and says "Ok, do you want to know what I think?" Tom replies "Yes, please."

Nadia looks back at Tom after swallowing a bite of toast and says "This isn't the first dream you've had where you were bounty hunting. However, all of this time, you have yet to dream of yourself being a police investigator. You know what that tells me?" Tom sees where she's going and replies "I want to be a bounty hunter. I know! But Nadia..."

Nadia holds up her hand and says "Listen, I think you want to be a bounty hunter because you know it's what you'd be best at. You said it yourself, you did a lot of glorified bounty hunting in the Anti-Cartel. Besides, investigations at a sleepy Mexican town would bore you to death! I know you, Tom, you need to be active...and bounty hunting would be right up your alley." Tom sighs and says "But I don't want to leave you a widow with our child to raise."

Nadia shakes her head and says "I'm not worried about that. You'd be so good at it and I know you'll handle yourself out there well. Plus, you'll have a chance to work with friends. So you want my advice? Here it is: Go be a bounty hunter with Mike and Freddie." Tom, not entirely convinced yet, asks "Are you sure?"

Nadia smirks and says "I'm positive. In fact, I'm not even going to give you a choice anymore! If you take the police job, I'll be very disappointed in you. You'll be taking the easy way out, and that's not the man I married! There, now I DARE you to take the bounty hunting job!"

Tom laughs and gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek. "Ok, you twisted my arm. Bounty hunting it is." Nadia smile and says "Good! Now you have something else to do today...give your friend Freddie a call..."

Tom says "Well, I'm not going to start right away. I'll wait for Maria to be born first...and that's not negotiable." Nadia gives Tom a defiant smirk, then says "Ok, fine! Besides, we'll be busy unpacking and settling in to our house in the coming months. You'll be busy enough."

Tom smiles and takes another bite of his breakfast. He looks over at Nadia and says "Great job on breakfast, babe." Nadia smiles and says "No problem. Oh, speaking of breakfast, we're meeting Sydney and Vaughn tomorrow morning at Kitchen 24."

Tom raises his eyebrows and says "And what brought this about?" Nadia shrugs and says "Sydney wanted to do it. She likes that diner, too." Tom nods and says "And finally, I'll get to try those danishes that Vaughn raves about."

The two would spend the rest of the day relaxing, packing, and dreaming of the future.

* * *

><p><em><strong>San Felipe...?<strong>_

Tom finds himself in another dream, just like the night before. He's at his house in San Felipe, lying in bed and looking up at the tan ceiling. Tom looks right and sees Nadia's not in bed. He then looks left and sees it's 10:34 in the morning on his alarm clock, and the sun is shining brightly through the windows.

Tom raises his eyebrows and says "Wow, I overslept!" He scrambles out of their king sized-bed and puts a bathrobe on. He figures since Maria's here, walking around in his white tank top and boxer shorts is a little indecent.

Tom walks down the hallway and looks in the first bedroom. He sees it's their guest bedroom and looks untouched.

He then looks at the second bedroom and sees Maria's room is nice and tidy. There's also no one in there either.

Finally, he checks the third bedroom and sees their office. Again, things look tidy in there.

Tom keeps walking down the hallway and turns the corner to the left into the kitchen. There's no signs that anyone has even been there...except for a couple dishes in the sink.

Now, Tom is a little worried. Where is Nadia and Maria?

Tom walks over to the living room and looks out at the sea. His fears are relieved when he sees Nadia and young Maria frolicking on the shore. Maria's in a one-piece swimsuit and is still about the same age she was in Tom's first dream, 4 or 5 years old. She also still looks the same from the dream as well, minus the formal dressing up. Nadia, meanwhile, is wearing a white tank top and short khaki shorts and looks like she's having fun chasing Maria around.

Tom opens the patio door and walks out towards them on the patio. Maria spots him first and excitedly says "Good morning, daddy!" Tom waves and says "Good morning, ladies!" Nadia looks up at him and waves, then goes back to chasing Maria around.

It's a pleasant morning. The sun shines bright, the sea waves look inviting, and the two women in his life are having a good time.

Everything's perfect.

Tom walks back inside to get himself a cup of coffee. He walks to the counter and grabs the coffee pot and a coffee cup and starts pouring his coffee.

Unfortunately for Tom, he overfills the cup and burns his left hand. Tom yelps in pain and holds his hand to his body. After the pain subsides a bit, he looks down...

...and sees his hand is gone.

Oddly, there's no blood...his arm just ends at his wrist in a nub. Tom looks spooked as he yells "Where the hell did my hand go?" Just as he says that, Nadia and Maria walk back in from outside. Tom quickly puts his arm behind his back as they walk in, trying to hide his arm from their sight.

Nadia looks at Tom and says "Oh, your breakfast is in the fridge!" Tom nods and turns and opens the fridge. On the top level of the fridge, he spots his sausage biscuit and toast...along with a hand.

Tom smiles and says "Ah, there's my hand!" As Maria runs down the hallway to get dressed, Nadia says "Oh no, that's not yours. You cut that hand off of someone in 1996 when you avenged Matt Aguero's death."

Tom looks at her all disturbed, then looks back in the fridge and now sees it's littered with nothing but arms, legs, hands and blood.

Tom, now distressed at the gore he's looking at, shakes his head and asks "What the hell is all of this?" Nadia casually replies "Oh, those were from your rampage, too." Tom looks back at the limbs and shakes his head, remembering that's from a part of his past that he's buried. He's not that man anymore.

Tom slams the fridge shut and says "I'll just have coffee, thank you." Nadia smiles and, not bothered at all by the cut off limbs in the fridge, says "That's fine. I figured you still haven't gotten your appetite back from the surgery."

Tom asks "What surgery?" Nadia replies "They had to amputate your left hand a week ago." Tom, now completely confused, asks "What? Why?" Nadia replies "Complications from Project Alloy."

Tom rolls his eyes as he grabs his cup of coffee and walks to the kitchen table. "So, I guess that means my bounty hunting career is over." Nadia reassuringly says "You did good for a few years, we're all set financially. Oh, and we don't discuss Project Alloy around Maria. She's not supposed to know anything about that or Rambaldi. We're normal parents to her, let's keep it that way."

As he absorbs all of that, Tom sits down at the kitchen table as Maria comes running back out in a pink short-sleeve shirt and jean shorts. She sits to the right of Tom and asks "Daddy, why did you sleep so late?" Tom thinks for an answer, but is cut off by Nadia when she says "He's still recovering from surgery! Daddy can sleep as much as he want."

Tom appears to buy that and nods at Maria. "Your daddy needs rest to get strong again!" Maria smiles and says "Ok! I missed you at breakfast!" She then grabs a pad of paper on the table and starts drawing on it. Nadia joins them both at the table when she sits to the left of Tom.

Tom takes a sip of coffee and looks out at the sea. "Nice day today, huh?" Nadia says "Yeah, it is."

Tom looks back at Maria...and sees that, all of the sudden, she's aged a couple of years. She now looks taller and about 9 now. She still has long, black hair and is wearing an enlarged version of the pink shirt and jean shorts she wore before.

Tom takes a moment to process this sudden change and says "Hey...you sure have grown!" Maria smiles and says "Thanks dad!" Tom immediately notices her voice sounds less like an infant and more like a girl her age.

Tom looks over at Nadia and sees she generally looks the same, except her hair is short, like it was when she was a teenager. Tom asks "What did you do to your hair?" Nadia looks at him alarmed and says "What? Is something wrong with it?" Tom perplexedly says "No...it's just...shorter." Nadia smiles and says "I had it cut a while ago, you fool! Don't act surprised!"

Tom smiles and says "Uh...I knew that." He then goes to reach over and pat Nadia on the hand...except he now realizes he has no left arm.

A now-frightened Tom yells "WHERE'S MY ARM?" This causes Maria and Nadia to both jump a bit. Maria says "Daddy, the surgery!" Tom looks at her and asks "What surgery?" Nadia says "They had to amputate your arm as well. You know...the complications?"

Tom shakes his head and says "So I don't have a left arm now?" Nadia shakes her head and says "They tried to save it, but it was deteriorating too fast." Tom sighs and puts his head in the only hand he has left. Maria says "It's ok, dad. You still have the other one!"

Tom chuckles a bit and sarcastically says "Gee, thanks!" Maria giggles and says "You're welcome!" She then goes back to her math homework, which has apparently replaced whatever she was drawing as a younger girl before.

Tom goes to take a drink of his coffee, but Nadia says "Oh, that's a few years old. I'll get you another cup." Tom says "Oh, no, I'll get it. I still have my legs at least." Tom goes to stand up...but crashes to the ground instead.

Now facedown on the ground, he looks down at his legs...and sees he now has no legs.

After a bit, two sets of hands grab him and set him up on a wheelchair. Tom looks up and sees those two sets of hands were Nadia's and Maria's...only, they're now a lot older. Nadia is now in her 40's and has a few wrinkles on her face. Maria, meanwhile, is about 18 and looks like she's turned out to be a beautiful young woman. And she's still in the pink shirt and jean shorts.

Maria concernedly asks "Are you alright, dad?" Tom immediately notices Maria's deeper timber and says "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm...still getting used to not having legs." Nadia shakes her head and says "You're crazy! You had your legs amputated two years ago!"

Tom now looks dismayed and says "Let me guess...complications?" Nadia nods and simply replies "Yeah." Maria laughs a bit and says "I'm just happy you didn't do that before Pablo got here."

Tom questioningly asks "Who's Pablo?" Maria and Nadia both laugh at that, thinking he's being silly. Finally, Maria says "Pablo is my boyfriend! He's taking me out sailing today, you knew this!" Nadia starts rubbing Tom's forehead and says "You didn't take a blow to the head, did you?"

Tom closes his eyes and continues to process what's going on. In a matter of a minute or two, he's aged 13 or 14 years, has lost all of his limbs except his right arm, and now looks like a blathering fool in front of Nadia and Maria.

He starts shaking his head quickly. He wants out of this nightmare.

But, instead of escaping, he falls forward out of his wheelchair and slams his head on the side of the table. He immediately goes unconscious.

The next thing he sees is his eyes opening. Nadia's standing over him, looking like she always has. However, her neck is all bloody. Before he can ask about that, Nadia asks "Are you alright?" Tom leans up and sees he has his left arm and legs back. In his confusion, he says "I guess I am!"

Tom gets up to his feet and looks around. He's still in his house in San Felipe in the kitchen. He immediately notices Maria isn't there anymore. Tom looks back at Nadia and sees the bloody neck again. He frantically says "Oh my god! Nadia, what happened to your neck?" Nadia sadly says "Sit down with me."

Tom sits on his kitchen chair while Nadia takes a seat to his right.

Nadia calmly says "Tom, your time is coming." Tom looks at her confused and says "My time? Wait, where's Maria?"

Nadia shakes her head and says "She didn't make it." Tom frantically asks "What do you mean? She was just here..."

Nadia sullenly says "Tom, Maria's dead. And so am I." Tom shakes his head in disbelief and says "No...Nadia, what happened?"

Nadia replies "This is our destiny. And it's coming to the time where you have to fulfill your destiny." Tom asks "What destiny?"

Nadia blankly replies "You know what destiny I'm talking about." Tom leans back and thinks for a bit. Then, not wanting to believe what he just thought, asks "The ultimate prophecy?"

Nadia says "Yes. Your time is coming." Tom shakes his head and says "No it's not! We're going to live a long and happy life in San Felipe with our daughter! My mother says the ultimate prophecy is irrelevant..."

Nadia meekly says "No. You can't fight fate. Your time is coming." Tom angrily says "Please stop saying my time is coming!" Nadia insistently replies "But it is!" Tom snaps back "No it's not!" Nadia shakes her head and says "You have to kill them all!" Tom quickly asks "Kill who?"

Nadia stands up and almost towers over Tom. As blood continues to drip from a gash in her neck, she hauntingly starts chanting "Your time is coming...your time is coming...your time is coming...your time is coming..."

Tom closes his eyes and starts shaking his head rapidly again to try to get out of his dream. After a few seconds, he feels himself being pulled from the dream, and just before he wakes up, he hears Nadia's haunting words one more time:

"Your time is coming. You have to kill them all."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	39. Ch 38: For Every End

**FOR EVERY END...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Apartment<strong>_

Nadia Falk opens her eyes for the first time today. It's barely 6:00 in the morning and the light from the orange sunrise starts cracking through the window to their bedroom.

Nadia's facing Tom Falk, as she often does when she wakes up. He's sound asleep, but is moving his lips like he's having a conversation. Nadia giggles very lightly...his mannerisms when he's dreaming always crack her up.

Nadia takes a deep, satisfied breath. She feels good to be alive. Everything is going wonderfully with her pregnancy, with her marriage, with...well, just about everything.

She studies Tom some more and sees his mouth stops moving. Thinking he's out of a dream, she leans in and starts giving him a couple soft kisses on the lips, partly to be romantic and partly because he needs to wake up so they can meet Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn for breakfast.

After a couple kisses, Tom suddenly jerks awake, startling Nadia a bit and causing her to laugh a little. Sometimes, when she kisses Tom as he sleeps, he can get a little jumpy when he wakes up. As Tom gets his bearings, Nadia smiles wide and says "Good morning!"

Tom looks back at her frantically and says "You're ok..." Nadia sighs when he sees his frightened face and flops her head on the pillow. "Not another bad dream again..." Tom sighs and lies back down himself so he can collect his thoughts.

He's just waking up from the dream in the last chapter where Nadia has a bloody neck and is telling him repeatedly that his 'time is coming' and that he must 'kill them all'. The visions of his left arm and legs missing along with the hacked up body parts from his post-Matt Aguero rampage horrify him, along with Nadia's bloody neck.

Finally, Tom timidly says "Yeah...although this dream was different. It felt...realer, especially towards the end. I haven't felt like this since the dream I had before the Sovogda mission..." Nadia, now concerned, asks "What happened in the dream?"

Tom thinks about it, then shakes his head. "Who cares, it's not important. What's important is..." Tom cracks a smile and tries to get himself in a good mood. "...once again, I get to wake up next to my beautiful wife and take comfort in knowing I'm one day closer to seeing Maria!" Nadia laughs and says "Yes we are!"

Tom leans in and coolly says "You were doing something to my lips before I woke up...could you do that again?" Nadia cracks an alluring smile and says "Of course..." Nadia then leans in and resumes giving Tom some of those soft kisses from before.

Then, Nadia stops and says "Come on, we have to meet Sydney and Vaughn. Let's get ready." Tom smirks and says "Yes ma'am!"

They each get out of bed. Nadia starts looking for something to wear while Tom walks to the bathroom. He opens up the mirror over the sink and grabs a bottle of Vicodin.

As he pops a pill into his mouth, Nadia walks out of the bedroom and asks "How's your arm today?" Tom looks over as he swallows the pill and says "Feels alright."

Nadia gives him a relieved smile and says "You didn't have any attacks yesterday after you started taking those." Tom gives her a smile and says "Yeah, I guess I didn't. Maybe getting these was the right decision. Thanks for convincing me."

Nadia walks up to him and says "No, thank you. It was killing me seeing you suffer!" Tom gives Nadia a quick kiss and says "Well, hopefully I hear something good about my arm. Maybe it's something that can be fixed easily."

Nadia then says "I hope so. Now, let's get going, I don't want to be late!" Tom rolls his eyes and says "Ok! Ok!" He then puts the bottle of pills back in the medicine cabinet and gets ready for the day with Nadia.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kitchen 24 Diner<strong>_

Tom, Nadia, Sydney, and Vaughn sit in a booth enjoying their breakfast. It's a busy morning at the diner. Sydney and Vaughn are dressed in their usual work attire across from Tom and Nadia, who are both wearing casual shirts and jeans.

Tom takes a satisfying bite out of a danish and, when he's done, tells Vaughn "Man, you were right about these danishes!" Vaughn smirks and says "They're great, I'm surprised you haven't had one yet!" Nadia smirks and says "We always order the same thing every time we come here. We're creatures of habit."

Tom looks at Nadia, who also has a danish, and says "You know who else probably likes these danishes?" Tom then rubs Nadia's belly, causing her and Sydney to smile. Sydney says "Maria...what a great choice for a name!" Nadia looks up and says "Yeah, it's perfect."

Vaughn says "Has Maria been moving around this morning?" Nadia nods and says "Every once in a while, I feel her fluttering around!" Nadia then looks over at Tom and says "And I've been feeling her a lot just in the last couple of minutes. You're right, she must like these danishes!"

Sydney laughs and says "You know, I envy you two. It must be so nice to wake up and not have a worry in the world...to put on normal clothes..." Nadia smiles and says "Well, I do miss getting dressed up for work...just a little." Tom smirks and says "But, we don't miss work...trust me!"

Everyone laughs, then Vaughn says "I'll admit, APO is better when Sloane isn't your boss anymore." Tom smirks and says "Amen to that. I wonder what he's up to these days."

Sydney gives Vaughn a look, and Vaughn returns the look with one that indicates that the two of them know something Tom and Nadia don't. Nadia immediately notices and asks "What is it?" Sydney turns to Nadia and says "Your father..." Vaughn quickly cuts her off and says "Syd, perhaps they shouldn't know..." Tom sets his fork down and asks "Hey, it's just us."

Sydney looks down and says "No, Vaughn's right. Sloane's out of your lives, you don't need..." Nadia insistently says "Sydney, tell me...what's my father up to?"

Sydney sighs and says "We've picked up intel that Sloane has been communicating regularly with members of Prophet Five." Tom curiously asks "What's he talking about with them?" Vaughn says "We're not sure." Nadia looks down at the table and plainly says "He's going after Rambaldi's endgame."

Tom says "They don't know that..." Sydney says "No, but we've had our suspicions." As Tom looks at her dismayed, Nadia tells him "When I was at APO, he would always tell me that there were two choices in his life: me or Rambaldi. And now that I'm out of his life...what else is for him to do?" Vaughn says "Sloane still has resources at his disposal. It's very possible he's gearing up to go after The Horizon."

Tom chuckles a bit and says "Well, I guess Irina Derevko has some competition then. My mother was helping her locate that thing...at least she was anyway. Whatever it is, it must be pretty special..." Sydney says "We've found out what it is. It's a sphere that grants its holder immortality."

Tom then asks "If Sloane has little to live for, why would he want immortality?" Vaughn replies "Because, with immortality, he's free to do whatever he wants and get away with it." Sydney then says "Sloane has been building up his wealth for years. Power...money...Sloane has had a craving for both all his life. With immortality, he'd have the power, and the ability to grow his wealth exponentially."

Nadia then looks down at the table and says "If he had immortality...he'd become a monster." Sydney then says "Well, all we know is he's had contact with Prophet Five as recently as yesterday. We're not sure what he's up to, and he's not talking to any of us. That's what has us concerned."

Nadia thinks for a bit, then says "I'll go talk to him."

Tom flashes her a terrified look and says "Nadia, hell no." Sydney shakes her head and says "Nadia, we can handle it. You don't have to do that." Vaughn nod and says "Sydney's right. This shouldn't be your concern."

Nadia looks at them a little offended and says "He's my father! If there's one person in this world he'd talk to...it's me. I want to help!" Vaughn shakes his head and says "You haven't seen him since the wedding. You don't know what his state of mind is..." Tom nods and says "Exactly. He's out of our lives..."

Nadia agitatedly cuts him off. "But he might be right back in them if he's immortal!" Tom shrugs and says "Who's saying he's even going after the thing? And if he is...what if Irina beats him to it first?" Sydney nods and says "Tom's got a point. Nothing is absolute here, Nadia."

Nadia then sits back and forms a look of dismay. Vaughn then says "We better be getting to work." Sydney then asks "Oh, what did you think of the clothes I gave you guys yesterday?" Nadia just sits there, looking sullen and pondering what's going on with her father. Tom notices Nadia's silence and says "They're great, Syd. I appreciate all you've done for us."

Sydney smiles as she slides out of the booth with Vaughn and says "I know you would have done the same for Isabelle. Besides, Maria's my family, too!" Tom rolls his eyes as he stands up from the booth and says "Yeah, well, you know how I feel about not being there for Isabelle..." Vaughn shrugs and says "Hey, you and Nadia have stepped in a lot to help babysit lately. We appreciate your help." Nadia slides out of the booth and says "It's our pleasure. I love my little niece!"

They then exchange their goodbyes. Tom and Nadia would remain in the diner after Sydney and Vaughn leave. They take their previous seats.

Tom looks over at Nadia and notices she's still troubled over her father. Tom rubs the back of her neck and says "It's going to be ok. Sloane's not our concern anymore." Nadia looks over at Tom and asks "How could you say that?"

Tom replies "Because he's not! We chased him from our lives for good, and for four months now, we've lived a Sloane-free existence. Why stir up that hornet's nest now?" Nadia snaps back "Because he could still hurt us! If he's immortal, he'll make our lives a living hell!"

Tom shakes his head and says "How do you know that? He won't know where we live..." Nadia replies "He'll go through your sister. She knows we're moving to San Felipe. And if he's immortal, he'd torture and kill Karen and wouldn't bat an eye doing it."

Tom then asks "Why would he care about us if he's off doing whatever the hell he wants to do with his immortal life?" Nadia replies "Because he'll kill you just for the hell of it and you won't be able to stop him! I saw how he was at the wedding, when he stormed out of the chapel all angry. He'll kill you the first chance he gets. And when he's done with that...who knows what he'd do to me and Maria..."

Tom sighs and says "See? Who knows. You're just blindly speculating here. We don't even know if that's why he's talking to Prophet Five..." Nadia asks "Why else would he be?" Tom shrugs and says "Beats me. Nothing is ever that obvious with Sloane. But Sydney's right...let APO handle this."

Nadia looks down and says "I can't...I have to make sure he's not going after Rambaldi's endgame." She then looks deep into Tom's eyes and intently says "I have to this for us...for our baby! I need to know he won't be in our lives anymore. And if I can do something to help prevent that...I have to give us and our child that chance."

Tom hangs his head and says "I don't want you to do this. He could..." Nadia grabs his shoulder and asks "He could what? I'm his daughter, and I'm carrying his granddaughter. He won't do anything to me! Not now, anyway! He was still cordial with me every time he would drop by. I'll be fine."

Tom looks up and says "You don't know that he won't do anything." Nadia nods and says "I do. I just want to have a chat with him and see what he's up to. One shot, that's it. I just want us to have the peace of mind that we both have desired since we got back together a few months ago."

Tom sighs again and says "Nadia, I dreamed last night that your neck was cut up and bloody. You told me you were dead and Maria was dead. The last time I had a dream that vivid was when I dreamed Sydney killed you in the Sovogda mission..." Nadia shakes her head and says "But I didn't die in Sovogda! I'm right here!"

With his bottom lip quivering, he replies "But, you were out of my life for almost a year. Nadia...I don't want you to do this. I'm afraid something bad's going to happen..." Nadia rubs his shoulder to reassure him and says "I can do this...I _have_ to do this. For us."

Tom tightly closes his eyes and hangs his head. He knows this has bad news written all over it. But, he also knows there's no convincing Nadia otherwise. And deep down, through his fear, he understands why Nadia wants to do this. He wants that peace of mind, too.

Tom looks back up and apprehensively asks "When did you want to do this?" Nadia replies "Later in the day. I'll call him first and see if he'll talk to me."

Tom reluctantly nods and says "I pray he doesn't..." Nadia cracks a small smile and says "It's going to be ok. After today, we won't have anything to worry about!"

Tom goes back to eating his breakfast. He doesn't want to talk about this anymore. He has a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about this potential meeting. Nadia, meanwhile, looks confident as she goes back to her breakfast.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Outside Sloane's mansion<strong>_

Tom drives into Sloane's driveway. He sighs...seeing as this is about the last place on earth he wants to be right now. Meanwhile, Nadia is in the passenger's seat, dressed in a light grey sweater and has a calm expression on her face.

Tom looks over and asks "So, Sloane sounded ok on the phone?" Nadia nods and says "He was happy that I was willing to talk to him."

Tom shakes his head and says "You go in there on the false pretense that you're willing to have a relationship..." Nadia cuts him off and says "If I have to have a relationship from him from a distance in order to keep us protected, I'm willing to do that."

Tom sighs as he pulls closer to the front door. He sees Sloane standing outside, awaiting Nadia. Sloane actually has a somewhat relieved smile on his face.

As he approaches, Tom says "Nadia, let me go in with you." Nadia shakes her head and says "No. He refused to allow you into his house."

Tom replies "But, what if something happens to you?" Nadia rolls her eyes and says "Tom...I've told you so many times already...nothing's going to happen! He just wants to talk."

Tom stops the car in front of Sloane and behind his car. He looks over at Nadia and intently says "Nadia, text me THE moment you're done. I won't be any more than 5 minutes away." Nadia gives Tom a calm smile and says "Of course."

Nadia then leans in and gives Tom a peck on the lips and says "I love you, handsome." Tom cracks a tiny, but still unsettled smile and says "I love you, beautiful. Be safe." Nadia smirks and says "Of course."

Nadia then gets out of the car. She walks up to Sloane, who immediately gives her a hug. Then, they walk in to the mansion together.

Sloane's reaction to Nadia gives Tom a little bit of comfort. Maybe she is going to be ok...

Tom then drives off down the driveway, feeling a little better than he did when he pulled in the driveway.

* * *

><p>It's been two hours and still no word from Nadia. Tom is sitting in his car in the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. He went and checked out a store that sells baby clothes and other baby items that was in the mall, but that only held his attention for an hour.<p>

For the other hour, he's been sitting in the car, growing more and more anxious over what Nadia is doing with Sloane.

He didn't think she'd take this long. Hopefully, this is a sign that she's making progress with her father. Still, Nadia didn't give Tom the impression that this would be a long visit.

Tom looks down at his phone and sees that he has no new text messages.

Dismayed, he sets the phone back down on the passenger's seat. He looks out the driver's side window and sees the sun starting to set off to the west. It creates a bit of a red color in the clouds. Tom then starts imagining the sunsets in San Felipe, where him and Nadia will be this time two weeks from now.

As he daydreams, he hears his cellphone beep. He picks it up quickly and sees Nadia has sent him a text message, saying simply "come get me." Tom texts her back "are you ok?" After a few seconds, Tom gets another text: "yes, everything's fine."

Tom sets the phone down and quickly leaves the parking lot to go pick up Nadia. His worst fears are alleviated...for now.

* * *

><p>Tom turns back into the driveway of Sloane's mansion. He immediately sees in the distance that Sloane's car is gone. He then notices Nadia is not standing out front waiting for him. This confuses him...is Nadia still inside, all alone in his house?<p>

Tom pulls up in front of the front door and gets out of the car quickly.

He walks up to the front door and goes to knock, but sees the door is cracked open. Tom opens the door and yells "Nadia?"

He hears no response. Tom walks in, now confused. Where the hell is Nadia?

Tom walks in to the living room area and sees no one there. He looks in the kitchen and sees no one is there either.

Tom yells again "Nadia!" And yet, he still hears nothing.

Now back to being worried, he walks down the hallway. He looks in a bathroom off to the right...and finds nothing out of the ordinary.

Tom turns left and sees Sloane's office. He looks in and sees a fire going in the fireplace. Tom steps in...

...and immediately sees Nadia lying in a pool of blood next to the fireplace.

Tom's body goes stiff as a board and a look of sheer horror forms on his face, in shock over what he's seeing. Nadia's lying on the remains of a broken glass table, with glass shards and blood surrounding her entire body. A letter opener lies near her left hand.

She's not moving...she's not breathing...

Tom rapidly runs over and kneels down beside her and immediately sees a jagged piece of glass sticking out of her neck. Her face is frozen in a look of pain and agony.

Tom's breaths become quick and pained. His eyes squint as tears start to form in his eyes. It's starting to sink in that his worst fear are now being realized. His biggest nightmare has become reality...

Nadia is dead.

Tom shakes her and says "NADIA!" The shakes have no effect. Nadia remains lifeless. Tears start to fall from his face as he puts his fingers on the other side of Nadia's neck.

There's no pulse...and her body is merely lukewarm now.

And that that moment, the reality of the situation starts to sink in and he starts sobbing his eyes out. The love of his life has been murdered...which means...

He leans over and feels Nadia's belly. There's no fluttering or movement coming from Maria, his unborn baby. Tom lets out a loud scream in agony when he realizes that not only has his wife died...

...but so has his unborn daughter.

Tom, still uncontrollably sobbing, buries his head on Nadia's belly and says "Maria! MARIA! MY BABY! WHY? WHY HER? WHY NADIA? WHY NOT ME INSTEAD?"

Tom lifts his head up, but tears continue to pour out of his eyes. His stomach now aches out of sickness, his head now hurts, his left arm now aches in pain...everything just feels rotten because, for all intents and purposes, his world has just come crashing down.

Tom remains sobbing for a while, going over how or why this could have happened. Everything was going so well, so perfect in his life. Nadia had him convinced that nothing would happen if she saw Sloane. Why would Sloane do this to his own daughter...to his unborn granddaughter?

As Tom wipes away his tears, out of the corner of his eye, he catches a folded white piece of paper lying above Nadia's head, with the word "Tom" written on top. Tom immediately recognizes it's Sloane's handwriting.

Tom quickly scrambles over and picks up the letter and opens it and reads its contents:

_Tom,_

_A few months ago, you told me outside the hospital that you reap what you sow...somehow insinuating that my past actions in life have earned me the right to live my life without my daughter in it._

_And now, as you read this letter...likely kneeling over your wife's dead body...you're wondering why this tragedy has happened to her. You're wondering how I could kill my own daughter._

_Nadia stopped being my daughter four months ago. At the wedding, when I told you she was all yours, I washed my hands of her. Nadia made her choice in life, and she chose to not have me in it. I had to accept that._

_Nadia's absence left me with nothing...nothing except the realization that some things in life are bigger than love. She made her choice, and by proxy, forced me to make a choice myself._

_Your wife made a foolish mistake before she died. She tried to prevent me from going after Rambaldi's endgame. This woman, who had told me she wanted nothing to do with me, was now trying to tell me what I should do with my life. She didn't come to my house today as a daughter, despite giving me the false impression that she wanted to be. _

_She became my enemy when she tried to throw Page 47 into the fireplace. Therefore, I killed her. She got in the way of the one thing in life that I saw worth pursuing anymore._

_I also killed her because, now, you're just a common man. You've forsaken the aggressive, violent man you once were. Her death was not only necessary, but attainable without any regret. After all, you're no longer in the CIA. You don't have the resources to find me. _

_Bottom line: You can't do a damn thing to me anymore._

_I've spent all my life pursuing Rambaldi's prophecy. I will achieve immortality. And now, there's no stupid inconveniences like my daughter to get in the way of that._

_In the end, Tom, we are who we are. And we're both evil men at heart. You say I don't deserve my daughter because of what I've done in life. But if I can't have my daughter...why should you?_

_In the end, you were right at the hospital. We do reap what we sow. You've earned the pain you're feeling right now._

_I hope it hurts._

_-Arvin_

_P.S. By the time you received Nadia's text, she was at least an hour dead and I was in the process of boarding a plane. Nadia's phone is now destroyed. Tell Sydney...good luck trying to find me._

Tom's tears and sorrow now turn into rage as he crumples up the paper. The biggest thing he took from Sloane's letter was that he killed Nadia because she had merely represented a speed bump in his quest.

Collateral damage...that's all Nadia was. His wife...his child...collateral damage to a bigger scheme. Rambaldi's scheme...that scheme that Tom wanted to separate him and Nadia from for good...that scheme that has already caused him and Nadia so much hardship in their lives...the scheme that forced his mother to leave him in order to protect him from his fate...the scheme that forced his mother to take her own life.

And Tom knows, deep down, that Sloane is right about him. He no longer has the resources to seek vengeance. He's helpless. And he knows this.

That fact causes Tom to get enraged. He quickly gets up to his feet and, with a loud scream of rage reminiscent of his primal scream in Sovogda when he threw the trashcan after Nadia was tackled in the subway, yanks Sloane's computer monitor and tosses it across the room in anger, shattering it's screen to bits. He grabs Sloane's computer tower and...

Well, before he can chuck that, he remembers something...something that him and Nadia share...

The Lifeforce.

Tom drops the computer tower and looks up at the ceiling. "MOM! FIND NADIA! BRING HER BACK, I CAN SAVE HER!"

Tom anxiously awaits a response...but, as usual, he hears nothing from Mary Falk.

He wouldn't hear from her all night...or all day tomorrow.

Little did he know, his mother was preoccupied...

* * *

><p><em><strong>Buenos Aires...? (about an hour and a half earlier)<strong>_

Nadia sits at the edge of a familiar uncomfortable twin-sized bed. She looks around and immediately realizes she's back at the orphanage she grew up in. There's no one else present besides her. Everything has this light shade of blue to it.

The first thing she wonders is how she got here. What the heck happened?

A few minutes ago, she was talking to her father. The conversation had started off light and friendly. Sloane seemed happy to see her. He even offered her coffee and something to eat.

Then, Nadia asked to use the restroom. She walked down the hallway and, before she could step in the restroom off to her right, she had spotted something out of the corner of her eye to the left...sticking from underneath a stack of papers on Sloane's desk in his office.

She picked up the piece of paper and realized it was Page 47...the Rambaldi manuscript with Sydney's face on the front page.

Immediately, Nadia showed it to Sloane and asked what it was about. Sloane got up quickly and, as he stammered over his excuses for having it, started walking towards her quickly so he could snatch it away.

Nadia backed up from him...all the way into the office.

By the time Sloane got into the office, he had gone from being calm to being in a violent mood. Nadia noticed immediately and grabbed a letter opener that Sloane had on his desk. As she backed away from Sloane, she held Page 47 in her right hand and held the letter opener up in her left hand.

She threatened to stab him if he came any closer. She didn't want Sloane to have the document back and she was trying to figure out how she could escape so she could get the document to Sydney.

At that moment, Nadia realized she had made a major mistake seeing Sloane. As Sloane approached her, she realized she had to do something. Then, she remembered what Tom's mother did with his ultimate prophecy document: If it doesn't exist, it can't be fulfilled. Sloane won't be immortal, and her and Tom can live happily ever after with Maria in San Felipe.

That's when Nadia made her fatal move. She threw Page 47 into the fire in the fireplace. This caused Sloane to angrily spring out and, before Nadia could stab Sloane, he grabbed her and tossed her hard onto a glass table next to the fireplace.

The throw caused her to crash through the glass table next to the fireplace. Upon impact, she felt a jagged piece of glass plunge into her neck.

As Sloane fished the burning document from the fireplace, Nadia could feel her life escaping...she knew this was a fatal wound. Blood was gushing out of her neck in a hurry.

She would be dead in a matter of seconds.

A few seconds after going dark, she found herself sitting on the edge of her bed at the orphanage...in this blue world. She remembers that Tom described the afterlife as a blue replica of earth...

At that point, it sinks in that she's dead.

Her lip quivers and tears start to form in her eyes. Then, she remembers something...she feels lighter than she has been in the past month or so...

She looks down at her belly and realizes that she's no longer pregnant. There's no sign of Maria there.

And at that moment, she lets out a loud, painful scream of agony. Her baby is dead, too. That hurts her more than herself being dead.

Tears pour from her eyes as she lies down in the fetal position on the bed. As she loudly sobs, her thoughts go back to the table at the diner that morning, when Tom, Sydney, and Vaughn urged her not to approach Sloane.

She recounted Tom's trepidation right up to when he dropped her off. Nadia knows Tom would never lead her astray...neither would Sydney and Vaughn...why didn't she listen to them?

The answer? She was just too bold. She had become bold and confident in life, thanks a lot to her relationship to Tom. His love made her a very self-confident, self-assured woman. She almost felt invincible. She thought she could do this and ensure that the rest of their lives would be free from worry.

She was wrong...dead wrong. And now, her husband is now going to spend the rest of his life without his wife...or his child. As Nadia realizes this fact, she cries harder. In between tears, she says "Tom...I'm...I'm so sorry! Why didn't...why didn't I just listen..."

"Nadia?"

Nadia looks up and sees a tall, black-haired woman in her late teens standing at the door. Nadia wipes some of her tears and asks "Who are you?"

The woman replies "Julieta...your friend growing up! What are you doing here?" Nadia sits up and says "I...I died."

Julieta quickly jogs over and sits next to Nadia. "Nadia...what happened?" Nadia turns to her and before she can respond, Julieta gasps when she sees an inch-long scar on Nadia's left side of her neck. Julieta feels the scar and says "This must have been it..."

Nadia feels the scar for herself, and starts crying again. "My father killed me..." Julieta gasps again and says "You found your father!"

Nadia nods and, her voice still cracking, says "And now I'm dead because of him!" Julieta gives Nadia a hug and says "I'm so sorry..."

Nadia sniffles a bit and says "I am, too. I was pregnant with my husband's first born..." Julieta says "Oh no..." Nadia, still demoralized, says "I guess my baby is dead, too."

Nadia releases the hug and asks "How long have you been here?" Julieta hangs her head and says "A long time. I died when I was a teenager."

Nadia asks "What happened?" Julieta looks up and says "Nadia, after you left the orphanage after protecting me from that man was going to assault me, I never got adopted. I ran away, like you did. I wanted to find you! Unfortunately, I was kidnapped by a pimp and forced into prostitution. One day, I tried to run away from him...and he killed me."

Nadia shakes her head and says "I'm so sorry..." Julieta meekly replies "It's ok...I'm in a better place now. And so are you."

Nadia shakes her head quickly and says "No I'm not! I had a loving husband, a child on the way, and we were about to live our dream life! I don't want to be here!" Julieta hangs her head and says "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said that."

Nadia buries her head in her hands to resume sobbing. Julieta puts her arm around Nadia and says "By the way, I never thanked you for coming to my aid from that rapist. He beat you up pretty badly, and I'm forever grateful to have had you as a friend growing up. I miss the nights we'd look up at the stars together."

Nadia just keeps sobbing and says nothing. Julieta gets the idea that Nadia's not in the mood for talking and stands up and walks away.

After about a minute of crying, Nadia looks up and, to no one in particular, asks "Now what am I going to do?"

"You're going to help your husband."

Nadia looks over to her right and sees Mary Falk standing inside the doorway.

She gets up quickly and runs into Mary's arms and hugs her tightly. She quickly goes back to sobbing as she buries her head in Mary's right shoulder. Mary tries to stay strong, but she ends up closing her eyes tightly and shedding a tear herself at Nadia's pain.

As Nadia cries, a downtrodden Mary says "I'm so sorry about what happened. I never wanted this to happen to you. I never wanted this day to come." Nadia, still sobbing and her head still buried in Mary's shoulder, says "Why did this have to happen to me? WHY?"

Mary sighs as she rubs Nadia's back and says "Nadia, what happened..." Nadia then releases the hug and, having just realized something, forcefully says "Mary, you have to get me back in my body...just like you helped Tom after he died!"

Mary hangs her head and says "I can't..." Nadia grabs her shoulders and frantically asks "Why? Tom's blood can heal me!"

Mary shakes her head and says "I checked your body just now. The piece of glass in your neck completely severed your jugular vein. You could jump back in your body, but you'd be dead in a second and right back here. You've lost too much blood, and there's no repairing the vein. It'd be hopeless."

Nadia closes her eyes and, as more tears stream down her eyes, she hopelessly says "So, I left your son a widow..." Mary strongly replies "Nadia, listen to me." Nadia opens her eyes and looks at Mary, hopeful for good news. Mary puts her hands on Nadia's shoulders and says "You have to help my son now."

Nadia, still emotional, asks "How can I do that now that I'm dead?" Mary calmly replies "He's going to want vengeance for your death. But, he doesn't think he can get it. You're going to guide him."

Nadia quickly fires back "How? What am I going to do?" Mary says "I'm going to show you how you can communicate with him. And not just that, but how you're going to be able to be by his side when he hunts down Sloane and the rest of the Rambaldi followers."

Nadia gasps and says "Rest of the Rambaldi followers? Why would he go after them?" Mary replies "Tom's going to put equal blame on the prophecy for your death, along with Sloane. Rambaldi knew all along this was going to happen."

Nadia asks "That I what? That'd I'd die?" Mary nods and says "Unfortunately, yes. Despite my best attempts to protect you two from this fate, Rambaldi knew this was going to happen. Remember Tom's original Rambaldi manuscript? It said he'd he'd destroy everything in his path if you died, including your killer, before dying himself. This is his destiny."

Nadia confusedly says "But...wasn't that supposed to be in Sovogda?" Mary replies "Rambaldi never said anything in the document of Sydney killing you. He left your death open, and not tied to your fate in Sovogda."

Nadia intently says "But, Rambaldi also said that Tom would willingly sacrifice himself trying to hunt down my killer..." Mary nods and says "And he's going to have to in order to kill Sloane. Rambaldi knew Tom would be willing to make the sacrifice he's going to have to make so he can be with you again."

Nadia asks "How do you know that?" Mary sighs and says "Because...it's in the ultimate prophecy. And I just confirmed with Rambaldi that this was the plan before I came here to get you."

Nadia's jaw drops open wide. "You...knew that this would have been Tom's fate. That's why you fought to protect him..." Mary replies "...and I fought to protect you as well. Your death triggers the ultimate prophecy into action. I didn't want this to happen to you two, especially once you two found each other. And I had no idea that this was the way you were going to die...carrying my grandchild."

Nadia thinks for a bit, then says "Rambaldi did everything he did to us so we could both die?" Mary quickly replies "It'd be best of Rambaldi himself explained the rest to you. We should be going, your training is going to take a while."

Nadia then asks "Maria...what happened to her? What happened to my baby? Did she make it to the afterlife?" Mary plainly says "We don't know. We're trying to figure that out where she could have gone. Now, come on, we have to get moving."

Mary then holds Nadia's hand and closes her eyes. And then, they vanish.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Apartment, 24 hours later<strong>_

His life is over.

As he sits in his recliner, staring off into space, Tom has come to that conclusion. His wife is dead. His child is dead. And he feels alone in this world without them.

By now, Tom has accepted the fact that Nadia is not coming back. After he discovered Nadia, he stayed at Sloane's for a few hours, hoping in vain that his mother would tell him to get ready for Nadia to come back to life.

But Mary never said anything. And Nadia stayed dead.

Jack and Sydney Bristow finally convinced him to go home and get some rest. The first thing he did was set up Nadia's funeral. He wanted to do it today, just to get it over with, but was told it'd be best to have it first thing tomorrow to give the morgue enough time to prepare Nadia's body as well as allow his friends and sister to get into town.

Then, he called Mike Walcott. He told him what happened, told him when and where the funeral was, and that was basically the sum of his conversation. He was told Mike, Karen Falk, and David Marston would be there this evening. In fact, they were due there any time.

Now, it's just Tom...sitting there in the darkness. He has not ate since he found Nadia's body. He has not slept since he found Nadia's body, either. In fact, outside of a couple trips to the bathroom, he's spent all of his time either crying or trying to figure out why this is happening to him.

There was a time in his life where he was aggressive and downright violent. He had to be in order to survive in the Anti-Cartel, that's how he justified his actions. But still, he sent a lot of men to their graves, and of course, there's the whole Matt Aguero thing where he went completely overboard.

Tom thought the pain and agony of Project Alloy and the death of his Storm Crew friends was his punishment for his evil deeds. Then, he thought his prison term was the last part of that punishment.

Turns out he was way off on all counts. Turns out life just isn't fair.

He's thought about how he'd pursue Sloane. However, he just can't figure out where Sloane would go. And without being in the CIA, he wouldn't know where to start. He also finds himself seething in anger over the prophecy. The prophecy claimed his mother's life, and he knows Nadia and Maria died in part because of the prophecy, and he wants nothing more than to wipe the prophecy off the map.

But, he can't do any of that. He's helpless...or so he thinks.

The cordless phone rings next to him. He sees on the caller ID that Sydney is calling. Tom grabs the phone and answers. In a lifeless voice, he says "Hello." On the other end, he can tell Sydney has been crying. Through her tears, she says "Tom..."

Tom, almost catatonic, replies "Yes?" Sydney, still struggling, says "I just...I wanted to see if you were doing ok."

Tom blankly replies "Ok? Nadia's dead. Maria's dead. My life is over. So no, I'm not ok, Sydney." Sydney sniffles a bit and says "Tom, your life is not over..."

Tom leans forward and angrily asks "How can you tell me that after my wife was murdered in cold blood? I poured my HEART, my SOUL, into my relationship with Nadia! We were so close to San Felipe...to the rest of our lives...to Maria..." Tom then starts crying again. Then, in between tears, he painfully screams "AND NOW IT'S ALL GONE!"

On the other end, Tom can hear Sydney sigh and says "I shouldn't have said anything yesterday morning. I should have just kept my mouth shut. You two wanted..." Tom cuts her off and says "Don't blame yourself. Nadia only wanted to ensure Sloane wasn't going to be a terror in our lives after he got the Horizon. But...I guess he had already became one. And now...he's off seeking his fortune while Nadia and my unborn child are dead and I search for a reason to keep living."

Sydney frantically says "Tom, what are you saying?" Tom blankly replies "What else do I have, Sydney? Without Nadia and my child...what reasons do I have to live?"

Sydney replies "You have me, you have your friends...your sister..." Tom snickers and says "My dad had his family and friends when he thought my mother died. But he became a burden to them...a drunk, pathetic burden. There is no future for me, because I refuse to become my father. Sydney, I know where I'm going when I die, and I know Nadia is waiting for me in the afterlife."

Sydney then yells "Tom, please don't tell me you're going to kill yourself." Tom just remains silent, mulling over that very idea. Death would be a major relief to him. And since Mike, Karen, and David were going to be over soon...his body wouldn't be too smelly when they found his corpse.

After a few seconds of silence, Sydney frenetically asks "Tom? TOM!" Tom, having now accepted what he has to do, gravely replies "Tom's dead."

Before Sydney can respond, Tom clicks off the phone.

Tom walks over to the kitchen and unplugs the phone from the wall. He grabs his cell phone and turns it off. Now, no one can stop him from what he's about to do.

Tom spots a pad of paper on the kitchen counter. Should he write a suicide letter? Tom shakes his head no. He knows it's going to be pretty obvious why he's going to do what he's about to do. Besides, writing a letter would just waste time.

Tom quickly walks into the bathroom and opens up the medicine cabinet. He spots an almost full bottle of Vicodin. Tom stares at the bottle. He knows there's probably enough pills in there to kill him if he swallows them all.

But then, he realizes his death wouldn't be instantaneous. In fact, there's a good chance of him screwing up and not dying at all. And he doesn't want to deal with the aftermath if he survives this.

Tom closes the mirror door and walks into the bedroom.

On the dresser, he spots the picture he took of Nadia holding Isabelle when they first babysat her the day after he got out of prison. Nadia looked so forward to being a mother...and now, that's gone. Tom sheds a tear over that.

Tom then opens up the top drawer and, underneath some of his underwear, he pulls out his Desert Eagle .50. Tom looks at the silver gun and nods. "_This will do the trick" _he thinks as he closes the dresser drawer and takes the picture along with the frame it's in.

He walks back out to the living room like a zombie. He lacks the energy from the lack of sleep and food and the abundance of depression he's feeling to walk any faster. He looks at the couch and recliner. He's figuring out how he wants to do this.

Tom then decides he's going to sit on the couch...the couch where he spent so much time sitting next to Nadia...talking with her, eating breakfast, and just enjoying themselves. He decides it'd be appropriate to end his life there...at a place he shared so many good memories with Nadia.

He sits on the couch and opens up the chamber of his gun, making sure there's a bullet in there. There is, as there always is. Tom then closes the chamber and clicks off the safety. Then, he sits back on the couch.

He quickly puts the gun in his mouth. As his does, his arm starts to shake out of fear and adrenaline. Thoughts, memories race through his mind as he contemplates whether to pull the trigger.

And then, he pulls the gun out of his mouth and thinks to himself "_My spine is titanium alloy...if the bullet hits it, then it won't go out the back of my head...and I'll still be alive...maybe. I'm not leaving this to chance"._

Tom then points the gun underneath his chin upwards. His arm goes back to shaking. Does he really want to do this?

Tom pulls the gun down from his chin and shakes his head. "_The bullet would have a long way to travel to get through my brain. What if it doesn't? Then I'm a vegetable for the rest of my life."_

And then, Tom decides how he's going to go out.

He places the end of the barrel on his right temple. Tom nods and openly says "Yeah, this is good. Right to the point..."

His arm still shakes from the adrenaline. Tom closes his eyes and goes over the reasons why he's doing this. Nadia...Maria...without them, he has nothing worth living for. No job, no ambitions, nothing.

He has to do this. He wants to be with Nadia. And this is the only way he can do that now.

And at that moment, he decides he's going to do it. His arm stops shaking and steadies itself. With his eyes still closed, he takes a deep exhale to calm himself one more time. He's now resigned to his fate.

The finger starts to pull back on the trigger...then stops.

Tom opens his eyes quickly and says "No...if I do this upright, there's going to be a bloody, gory mess to clean up."

Tom then looks down to his left and gets an idea. He lies down on his side, with his left side of his head on a throw pillow. Tom then nods and says openly "Yeah...this is good. The splatter will just go right into the pillow...shouldn't be that bad to clean up."

Tom then holds up the picture of Nadia and Isabelle that he was holding in his left hand this whole time. For the first time since their breakfast at the diner yesterday, he smiles. He kisses Nadia's face in the picture and says "I'm coming, beautiful. I'll be there in just a few seconds..."

Tom then drops the picture to the ground and presses the end of the gun barrel on his right temple once again. He takes a deep breath, lets his head sink into the throw pillow, and allows his right arm to steady.

Then, Tom starts the countdown. "3...2...1..."

Tom closes his eyes...and slowly starts pulling back on the trigger...

"_Put down the gun, brother."_

Tom stops pulling back the trigger and his eyes open wide. He just heard a voice from the afterlife...a voice that normally would be his mother's.

But, it wasn't her. In fact, it wasn't even a woman's voice just now.

It was a man's. The voice was calm...deep...and whoever he was...he called Tom...brother.

Tom lowers the gun and sits up suddenly and realizes who he just heard.

With his voice quivering, he utters one word: "Eddie?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	40. Ch 39: There Is A Beginning

**...THERE IS A BEGINNING**

* * *

><p><em>Note: I want to take this time to give thanks to irinab, xo-Sapphire-xo, Coconutmags, and anyone else that has stayed with this story up until this point. Your support is very much appreciated and I am grateful that I have entertained you up until this point. As always, feedback and reviews are appreciated! Ok, on with the story...<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom and Nadia's Apartment<strong>_

"3...2...1..."

Tom closes his eyes...and slowly starts pulling back on the trigger...

"_Put down the gun, brother."_

Tom stops pulling back the trigger and his eyes open wide. He just heard a voice from the afterlife...a voice that normally would be his mother's.

But, it wasn't her. In fact, it wasn't even a woman's voice just now.

It was a man's. The voice was calm...deep...and whoever he was...he called Tom...'brother'.

Tom lowers the gun and sits up suddenly and realizes who he just heard.

With his voice quivering, he utters one word: "Eddie?"

The voice replies _"Yes, this is your brother. Put the gun away, we have to talk."_ Tom shakes his head and says "How is this possible? How do you know how to talk to me?"

After a brief pause, Eddie replies _"Because I was just shown how to communicate with you. Mom wanted me to watch over you."_ Tom asks "Why you? Why not her?"

Eddie replies _"Our mother is with Nadia. They're not here at the moment."_ Tom gasps at the mention of Nadia. "Nadia made it to the afterlife..."

Eddie says _"Yes, she made it. We're still not sure about Maria, though."_ Tom nods and points the gun back at his right temple. "Well, thanks for confirming that my wife is there at least. Now, this is going to be a lot easier..."

Eddie then yells _"Put the damn gun down! You're not a coward!" _Tom gets an offended look on his face as he lowers the gun and says "No, our father was the coward! He lingered throughout his life a drunk, pathetic piece of crap! I refuse to linger through the rest of my years a defeated, worthless man, Eddie! But without Nadia, that's just what I'll be! I've endured too much in my life to have to deal with this pain! After all I've been through, if Nadia isn't with me, then what's it all for?"

Eddie tersely replies _"You'll be no better than your father if you kill yourself." _Tom forms a scowl on his face and says "You're wrong! I won't be a worthless piece of shit like he was!"

Eddie then says _"No, but you'll be taking the easy way out! That's not you. There's many adjectives and words people, including myself, can use to describe you, but 'coward' isn't one of them."_ Tom rolls his eyes and says "So, being a shell of myself until I die of old age is better?"

Eddie replies _"Tom, I can't even believe I'm having this conversation with you! Do you know how many times I had to stick up for you and bail you out because you'd always try to get even with others if something happened to me, you, or Karen? And now, your wife's killer is running free and you want to kill yourself instead of getting revenge? Who are you?"_ Tom defeatedly shakes his head and says "Beating up bullies and other jerkoffs when we were growing up is one thing. Taking out Mexican cartel members is another. But Sloane is a different beast. I have no idea how to track him down, now that I'm not in the CIA anymore..."

Eddie says _"No, you're not in the CIA. But Sydney, Mike, and David are. You still have allies." _Tom forms a perplexed look on his face as he leans forward and says "Are you actually advocating that I try to get revenge? After all the times you'd tell me that violence wasn't always the answer, I can't believe I'm having this conversation with YOU!"

Eddie laughs a bit and says _"Brother, you know in your heart that Sloane can't be allowed to live at Nadia's expense. And you're going to be given an opportunity to get retribution. And I'm not just talking about Sloane either. You're going to bring down Rambaldi's entire prophecy, too." _Tom's jaw drops in disbelief. "Eddie, if you know something...please tell me."

Eddie replies _"In time, you'll have all the information you need._" Tom sighs and says "Did our mother teach you to be painfully vague to your family?"

Eddie chuckles a bit and says _"She told me just to keep a watch over you for now. I don't know everything there is to know. She told me what I just told you, but beyond that, I'm clueless."_ Tom hangs his head and says "I'm tired of being played, Eddie. Starting with Project Alloy, and now with the murder of my wife and unborn child...this prophecy has derailed my life. My plans...my dreams...all deemed bullshit because of Rambaldi. If I kill myself, this nightmare will be ov..."

Eddie sharply replies _"If you kill yourself, you won't be welcome here."_ Tom agitatedly says "What? I know I'm going to the afterlife when I die..."

Eddie says _"Not everyone gets to come here. And if you take the coward's way out, you won't be allowed here. If you're going to go out...at least go out fighting...like I did." _Tom angrily sets his gun down on the couch and asks "Eddie, I have no idea where to look for Sloane or any of Rambaldi's followers! And there's no way I'll be let back into the CIA after the nearly year-long hell Director Chase put me through!"

Eddie replies _"Sloane got back into the CIA and he did things far worse than what you did to Sark. Besides, don't underestimate your friends. Speaking of which..."_

The door knocks. Tom looks at the door in surprise. He asks Eddie "Is this Mike, David, and Karen?"

Eddie says _"Yes." _Tom goes to ask something, but the door quickly knocks again and we hear Mike yell "Tom, are you in there?" Eddie then says _"You better answer the door, Tom."_

Tom stands up and asks "You said I'd be getting the information I need to hunt down Sloane and Rambaldi's followers...when is this going to happen?" Eddie replies _"Soon enough. Now, go. Good luck, brother. I'll be seeing you soon."_ Tom's jaw goes agape at that last part and he asks "What do you mean 'I'll be seeing you soon'?"

Tom hears no response. He just shakes his head in befuddlement and defeatedly asks "Why me?"

Tom opens the door and sees Mike Walcott and David Marston looking depressed as well as an emotional Karen Falk standing in front of them outside the door.

Karen quickly gives Tom a hug. When she does, she starts crying loudly. Tom sheds a couple tears himself as he looks out at a sullen Mike and David. Tom solemnly says "Thanks for coming."

David shakes his head and angrily says "I hate being here under these circumstances. What happened to Nadia is total bullshit...should never have happened." Mike agreeably nods and says "My thoughts exactly. Any word on where Sloane went?" Tom shakes his head as he releases the hug with Karen and says "The whole world could have come to an end in the last 24 hours and I'd have no idea. So no, I have no clue where Sloane's run off to."

Karen examines Tom's rough appearance and, through her tears, says "Tom...you look terrible..." Tom opens the door wider and plainly says "I know. Come on in, everyone."

Karen, Mike, and David walk in to Tom's dark apartment. Tom flips on an overhead light in the living room.

Karen immediately spots Nadia's picture on the ground along with the gun that Tom threatened to kill himself with. She looks back at Tom troubled and asks "Tom, what's with the picture and the gun?"

Tom just gives her a blank look and doesn't say anything. Mike, however, immediately makes the connection. "Tom...you weren't going to..." Tom looks at Mike and says "Don't worry, I talked myself out of it."

While Karen, Mike, and David show concern over Tom considering suicide, Tom walks over and just flops down on the couch. David notices Tom looks weak and rough. "Have you ate anything lately? You look famished." Tom lifelessly replies "No. I've had other things on my mind, David."

A concerned Karen quickly stands behind Tom and says "Tom, if there's anything you need..." Mike's eyes open wide and he says "Karen, could you make a run to In and Out Burger?" Tom holds up his hand and says "Karen, that won't be necessary." Mike shakes his head and says "No, you're getting something to eat, you look horrible. Karen, go."

Karen looks at Mike and says "What do you guys want..." Mike intently says "Just...use your imagination...surprise us! Just...go!" Karen nods quickly and leaves the apartment.

Mike and David take their seats on the couch to each side of Tom. As they do, Tom puts his gun on the coffee table in front of him, along with the picture of Nadia holding Isabelle.

David then asks "Tom, I can't imagine what you're going through. I know what Nadia meant to you..." Tom looks over at David and says "Nadia was everything to me. And so was my baby girl. Yesterday, my life was ripped away from me." Mike puts his arm around Tom and says "I'm so sorry about what happened to Nadia. But we..."

Tom looks over at Mike and, cutting him off, sullenly says "Me and Nadia just got married not even five months ago...you were my best man..." Mike nods and says "I know. Listen..."

Tom then turns away and, looking at his gun, sinisterly says "I wish I could rip out Sloane's black heart and feed it to him with his last breaths. That son of a bitch killed Nadia because she dared to get in the way of his desire for immortality. That's Rambaldi's endgame...immortality. Nadia knew that Sloane would be a terror in our lives if he became immortal. He'd kill me and do god-knows-what with Nadia and Maria."

David looks down and says "Sounds like it'd be Back to the Future II, when Biff had Marty McFly's mom as his captive wife..." Mike and Tom each give David a funny look. David timidly shrugs and says "I'm just saying...Nadia would be a possession to him, along with your daughter."

Tom then says "Anyway, Nadia wanted to make a preemptive strike and try to talk him out of going after Rambaldi's endgame, thinking he'd still listen to her. So, when she tried to destroy the Rambaldi document...he threw her through a glass table and she got a piece of glass lodged into her jugular vein. She didn't have a prayer." Tom holds up his hands and notices they're shaking with anger. His voice starts getting evil now. "And it's not just Sloane that I want to butcher. I want every single piece of shit that has benefited from Nadia's pain and death to die. She was merely a pawn in this freaking prophecy, just like I was. She was my wife...the light of my life...and some just viewed her as nothing more than an artifact. I want them all to freaking die." Tom then drops his hands defeatedly. "But, I can't do a damn thing about it. I'm not in the CIA and I don't have the resources to find Sloane or any of the Rambaldi followers."

Mike thinks for a bit, then says something that Tom was not expecting: "How can we help?"

Tom flashes him a surprised look. "Mike, you're still CIA, I'm not. You can't..." Mike shakes his head and says "I sent Karen away because I wanted to talk to you about what you planned to do about Nadia's death. She was our friend, too." As Tom looks at him surprised, David says "Yeah, I'm with Mike. She was one of us. She became a member of Storm Crew after we got you out of prison. Sloane's not going to get away with this."

Tom flashes David that same surprised look. "Guys, I have no idea where Sloane could have even gone..." David asks "Where does he have property?" Tom leans back and racks his brain. "He's got this place in Tuscany...I know he's got ties in Zurich...Brussels...he's got a place in Japan...the Philippines..." Mike raises his eyebrows and says "Geez, this guy gets around."

Tom looks at Mike and says "Yeah, no shit. And I'd have no idea how to go after Rambaldi's followers, either. That might just be a pipe dream at this point..." Mike leans around Tom and looks at David. "You would be able to get access to Sloane's profile, right?" David nods and says "Yeah, no sweat."

Tom shakes his head and says "I don't want to get you guys involved in this..." Mike cuts him off and says "How else are you going to get the information?" Tom rolls his eyes and says "You two have careers...I'm not going to jeopardize them..." David then says "Mike's leaving the CIA soon and Lisa's been nagging me to be partners in her technology consulting business. Me and Mike both have one foot out the door already. We'll have this be our swan song if it has to be."

Tom looks down and ponders getting Mike and David involved. Just as his brother told him just a few minutes ago, they do want to help. And according to his brother, there might be something else in the works...maybe with Mary and Nadia in the afterlife.

Tom looks at Mike and says "If Sydney finds out you two are hunting Sloane, she's going to smell a rat. She'll know I'm involved." Mike nods and says "That's why we have to convince her to get you back into APO. If you're an APO employee, you can tap into us for help." Tom snickers and says "Yeah, like Director Chase will allow that..." Mike replies "Sydney is your sister in law, and you and Jack are on friendly terms. They'll have your back."

As Tom ponders this, all of the sudden the front door goes flying open and a familiar woman's voice frantically yell "TOM?" Tom, Mike, and David both jump up to their feet at the sound of the door flying open and they see Sydney Bristow standing in the doorway.

Sydney immediately looks relieved to see Tom standing there. She lets out a sigh of relief and says "You didn't kill yourself..." As Mike and David each turn to Tom with conspicuous glares, Tom flatly replies "Yeah, I didn't. And it's good that you're here, because we need to talk. Close the door."

Sydney closes the door while Mike concernedly asks Tom "Did you tell Sydney you were going to kill yourself?" Tom gives Mike a blank look and says "No comment." Mike forms a look of dismay over Tom's seriousness over killing himself.

Tom then says "Sydney, has there been any update on Arvin Sloane's whereabouts?" Sydney shakes her head and says "We have no idea where he's at. We've been looking..."

David then says "How would you like three more pairs of eyes to help?" Sydney looks at David and says "We're handling it..." Mike folds his arms and sternly says "Not well enough."

Sydney flashes Mike a surprised looks and says "You'd have no idea where to look..." Tom cuts her off. "I do. I know he has places in Japan, Brussels, Zurich, Tuscany, and the Philippines. I studied his profile long and hard when I was recruited to APO...I never forget my enemies."

Sydney then says "It's not that simple...who's to say he's not going to find another place to set up camp while he goes after The Horizon?" Tom shrugs and says "You're right, there's always that. But you let us three track him down...and we will find him. We don't fail, and for Nadia...we WON'T fail."

Sydney fires back "Tom, you resigned from the CIA after pleading guilty to felony aggravated assault...there's no way..." Tom cuts her off. "Oh don't give me that! If Sloane can weasel his way into the command post of APO after all the shit he did, I can get back into APO!" Sydney shakes her head and asks "Why do you want back after all this time? I thought you were done with the CIA."

Tom nods and says "You're right. I was done with the CIA. I was also going to move to San Felipe in two weeks with my beautiful wife. And in four months, I was going to welcome my baby Maria into this world. But guess what? Sloane literally shattered all those dreams for me yesterday. And now...I want nothing more than to rip his goddamn throat out! And you know as well as I do that Sloane needs to die for what he did to Nadia...AND for all he's done to you! Let's not forget that he murdered Danny all those years ago! He deserves to suffer for all he's done to us...and all I ask is for a crack at him!"

Sydney forms a troubled look on her face. "This isn't the first time you've wanted people to suffer over the death of a friend..." Tom forms a determined look on his face as he starts walking around the couch towards Sydney. Tom's fire is definitely back. He sternly says "No it's not. Matt Aguero's circumstances were a lot different, but the rage is the same, if not worse. This is personal. This is my wife and my unborn baby daughter we're talking about here. I want blood. And I know you and everyone else at APO want to see Sloane brought to justice." Sydney says "Yeah, we do, but not in the way you're..."

Tom gets in Sydney's face and says "You don't think Sloane has to die for what he did? Are you just going to arrest him...allow him to weasel his way out of prison and start this whole cycle again? Sloane has to die, Sydney! You know this!" Sydney looks away. She knows Tom's right, and she feels the same blood hate for Sloane that Tom does, although she doesn't have Tom's rage over it. As Sydney continues to ponder, Tom intently says "Remember what my Rambaldi manuscript said. I _will_ get revenge on The Passenger's killer!"

Sydney looks back at Tom and says "But that was then..." Tom cracks an evil smirk and says "And this is now. I will get vengeance for Nadia. I guarantee it." Tom then looks at Mike and David, then back at Sydney with a sinister look. "And quite frankly, I'm only asking for the CIA's help as a courtesy. If you won't help me...I'll find Sloane the hard way. When I was hunting down the man that led the ravaging of Matt Aguero, people literally called me the devil. And they called me the Falcon Devil because only the devil could be as cruel as I was. That state of mind helped me get vengeance for Matt Aguero without the CIA's help. It will help get me vengeance again for my wife and my baby."

Sydney, now very troubled, says "You're not that man anymore, Tom." Tom shakes his head and says "No, not at the moment. But I will be if I have to be. Help bring me back to APO...and I'll do it your way. Otherwise...it's open season on anyone that tries to protect Arvin Sloane."

Sydney folds her arms and says "Ok, say you kill Sloane...what then? Where do you go?" Tom knows he's probably going to die, either by someone's else's hands or his own. His brother Eddie just told him 'I'll be seeing you soon.' Does Eddie know this mission will take his life? One thing's for sure: he wants to keep that close to the vest at the moment.

Tom finally replies "That's for me to worry about. All I want now is justice for Nadia and Maria. That's all I want out of life at the moment. But let's face it...you know you'd be better off with my help. I won't rest until I find that bloodsucking tick and stand over his dead body. I know you want Sloane to pay for what he's done...let me help, and I'll let you get a crack at him, too. You have my word on that."

Sydney lets out a deep sigh, then nods her head. "I'll talk to my father tonight and see if he can coax Chase into letting you back in. I'll let you know at the funeral tomorrow." Sydney then starts scanning Tom and says "You look terrible, have you slept since yesterday?" Tom shakes his head and says "No. I can't sleep in the bed I shared with Nadia. I tried last night, but that empty space to the left of me that Nadia would fill..." Tom's rage subsides as grief takes over. He closes his eyes and lets a couple of tears fall down his face. Sydney quickly gives Tom a hug to try to comfort him a bit.

With his voice cracking, Tom says "Even 24 hours later, it still hurts just as bad..." Sydney calmly says "I know. I miss Nadia, too."

As Tom releases the hug with Sydney, Mike steps forward and asks Sydney "Have you had anything to eat? Karen's making a burger run." Sydney, seeing an opportunity to bring some levity into the room, suddenly laughs and says "Remember when you asked me that after you three rescued me in Cuba? I thought for sure you were hitting on me!" David laughs and even Tom cracks a small smile as he looks over at Mike. Mike just smirks and sarcastically says "Well, I found someone else. I'm sorry, it wouldn't have worked out between us." Sydney and David laugh a little bit. It would appear levity has returned to the room for the moment.

Tom, feeling a little better, says "Anyway, did you want Karen to get you a burger? I'll make the call..." Sydney shakes her head and says "No. Thank you, though. I should be getting going anyway. The funeral's early tomorrow."

Tom nods and says "Thank you for understanding what I'm going through, Sydney. I only hope your father and Chase do." Sydney cracks a small smile and says "I hope so, too. I'll see you at the funeral tomorrow. Bye, guys."

Mike and David both say "See ya." Then, Sydney steps out of the apartment. Tom turns to Mike and David and, now very determined, says "We're going to get Sloane...and the rest of the Rambaldi followers. This WILL happen."

Mike curiously says "I noticed you mentioned nothing about going after Rambaldi's followers to Sydney." Tom shakes his head and says "No, I didn't. That's for us to deal with." David then says "But if you go on a slaughter without the CIA knowing..."

Tom smirks and says "Let me deal with that. If I can hunt them by myself, I will, that way you guys are off the hook." Tom then looks at Mike. "Tomorrow, tell my sister the burial is private. Leave immediately after the funeral, and start the homework when you get back to Baltimore. I want you two to look into Prophet Five...find out who's calling the shots and see if you can find me a contact. That's your priority. I'll rendezvous with you guys later and join in. The hunt for Prophet Five is phase one of Project Nadia." David gives Tom a confused look and asks "Project Nadia?"

Tom nods and says "Yes, I'm calling this mission Project Nadia. I have my reasons why. Anyway, when I'm back into APO, I'll worry about finding Sloane. Keep the rest of our mission quiet! I can sell hunting Sloane to APO, but I don't think I can convince them to let me hunt down Prophet Five. Now, I need to ask you guys: Do any of you two have a problem proceeding without me being let back into the CIA?" Mike and David both look at each other and shake their head. Mike turns to Tom and, with a serious tone, says "We're in."

Tom smirks and says "Good. I hope it doesn't come to that, though. When you two arrive in Baltimore, start the research immediately. Let me know what you find. In the meantime...I might be getting some help from the afterlife. I talked to my brother before you two arrived." David forms a shocked look on his face and says "What? You can talk to the dead?" Mike looks at David and says "Yeah, I forgot to tell you. He has the ability to communicate with his mother."

Tom says "And apparently my brother now. Eddie tells me that I'll be given an opportunity to get retribution somehow...I don't know what he's talking about, and he wasn't told everything by my mother, but I was told I'd hear something soon. When I do, I'll let you two know. Are we good on the plan so far?" Mike and David nod affirmatively. Tom says "Good. And not a word of any of this to Karen, Mike." Mike nods and says "Of course."

Not too much later, Karen would show up with dinner. They would quietly eat dinner together, not saying anything about Project Nadia or Tom's conversation with Eddie.

Tom realizes that this conquest could very well end up taking his life...which doesn't really seem to bother him too much. Eddie was right: he needs to get revenge for Nadia before he rejoins her.

But still, Tom can't help but be confused about what Eddie said at the end: 'I'll be seeing you soon'. Was it just a slip of the tongue? Tom doesn't think so...Eddie was very sharp in life and if he said anything, he always meant it.

That night, after his company left, Tom slept on the couch instead of his bed. He still couldn't bear sleeping without Nadia by his side in bed. He didn't sleep very well, however. He got a couple of hours, but it was hard with what he was thinking about.

He had Nadia and blood on his mind.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Church, the next day<strong>_

Everyone that was at the wedding, minus David's wife Lisa and Isabelle, has gathered at Nadia's funeral. Dixon is there, too. They're in the same large church they were in for Nadia's funeral in the actual series, and Nadia is laid out in the casket front and center. They have her dressed very nice and formal, with the heart-shaped diamond pendant Tom bought for her in San Felipe glistening around her neck.

Tom, who looks a lot better than he did last night, has been short and to the point with everyone this morning. He's not much in the mood for conversation today. He still can't believe that, just months after marrying her, he's now burying Nadia. He's dressed in a basic suit and jacket. There's nothing too spectacular about his appearance, unlike when he got married.

When his turn to speak comes up, he takes a deep breath and slowly walks up to the podium. He has a lone white lily in his right hand, which he sets on the podium when he gets there. He has nothing written down for this speech.

With a crestfallen face, he starts off. "My wife was the epitome of a fighter. Not like you would look at a boxer or a cage fighter, but she was a fighter in life. She fought to survive in Argentina when she was growing up. She was a fighter in Argentine Intelligence...and later in APO, where she constantly fought with her internal demons when it came to her father. After she got out of her coma, she fought to have me released so I could be in her life. And after a lifetime of fighting, all she wanted was peace. I wanted to make sure she had that peace. And for five months...she did. But, I guess it should seem fitting that she lost her life fighting to make sure our family was going to be safe." Tom lowers his head and fights off the tears.

When he composes himself, he continues. "Nadia also spent most of her life with a dark cloud hanging over her head for a variety of reasons. And anyone that encountered her before the Sovogda mission never really got to see the true side of Nadia that I got to know and love these past few months, when that cloud finally disappeared. Ever since she broke me out of prison, she was happy...carefree...joyous...and extremely loving. I thought I was fortunate to know her prior to the Sovogda mission, but after we reunited...I got to see the real Nadia. She had sought stability all of her life. And I'm happy that I was able to help her achieve that stability. For the last few months of her life, she was free...free from that dark cloud that had hovered over her head all her life. Her smile, which was always intoxicating for me, somehow became brighter and more confident. Her positivity made my life easy to face. And her love made me just happy to be alive."

Tom thinks for a bit, then continues. "I'll never forget when Nadia told me that she wanted to have a child. She told me she had worn so many labels in her life: Orphan, thief, criminal, agent, 'The Passenger', sister, daughter, girlfriend. But there was nothing else in life that she wanted more than to be called 'mommy.'" Tom then turns away as he fights back more tears. After a few seconds, he turns around but still looks very much worse for the wear. "And I wanted her to have that dream. Nadia had seen a lot...been through a lot...and I know her life experiences and her personality would have made her a great mother for our daughter."

Tom takes a deep breath to try to compose himself again, then says "I knew of no greater love than the one I shared with Nadia. Every day I could have the fortune of waking up next to her was a joy to behold. She always told me she felt good waking up next to me, knowing that there's someone in life that loved her like I did. Well..." Tom's voice starts cracking as more tears form in his eyes. "...I felt the exact same way about her. I felt so fortunate to have her love, and the months I got to spend with Nadia were the best months of my life...I just wish there were more of them!"

Tom then breaks down completely. He turns around and hunches over, trying to hide his sobbing. In the crowd, Karen is openly sobbing over her brother's pain. Mike, trying to be strong, puts his arm around Karen and tries to console her. David looks very saddened, but is fighting off the tears. Sydney looks very emotional and has allowed a few tears to fall. While Vaughn consoles Sydney, Marshall looks crestfallen, and Jack looks a little down, but is staying his usual composed self.

Tom stands upright and tries to compose himself, but it takes him a few seconds. Finally, he turns around and gets back to the podium. "Finally...if Nadia were still alive today...I'd tell her..." Tom then turns left and looks at Nadia's body in the casket. "Babe, you still have my heart. I miss you...I love you..."

Tom squints his face to try to hide the tears. After letting a few more fall down, he takes a few breaths and, when he thinks about what how he wants to finish this, he forms a look of anger and determination. With his voice no longer cracking and now sounding very resolute, he finishes off with the following:

"...and I WILL avenge you and our daughter!"

The crowd, minus Mike and David, now look on with somewhat surprised looks at Tom's last words. Mike and David, meanwhile, holds their heads up high, feeling Tom's determination. Karen now has a look of concern as he looks at Tom, then at Mike and David.

Tom, meanwhile, grabs the flower he had brought up with him and walks down from the podium and stands in front of Nadia's body. He lifts up Nadia's folded hands and sticks the flower underneath her hands. He smiles and says "I never forgot you like lilies!"

Tom then leans in and whispers very softly "Succeed or fail...I will rejoin you soon. I love you, beautiful."

Tom stares at Nadia for a bit, knowing this will be the last time she sees her up close. Then, he quickly turns and takes his seat next to Mike on the aisle. As Tom hunches over and stares at the ground, Mike gives him a pat on the back.

The service would end soon after.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cemetery<strong>_

Tom stands above Nadia's casket, which is six feet under him in the grave plot. The dirt has not been dumped over the casket yet. Tom's expression is blank as he stares down the grave at the casket Nadia and his unborn baby lie in. They're going to be in that casket for eternity, never to be seen by the world again. He feels very hollow about that fact as he stares down the grave plot.

We see Nadia's grave plot is offset and right of the center of the headstone across the grave from Tom. We see the gravestone has "Falk" written in the top center. We see there's a spot for Tom on the left, with the birthdate "February 21, 1972" and the date of death left blank. Tom had requested that the headstone be a double.

To the right of Tom's name is Nadia's name etched into the stone. Her birthdate is listed as "September 10, 1979" (a guess based on Mary Falk's diary) and her date of death "October 26, 2006". Below Nadia's name and information is a small spot for "Maria", with no other information. Maria's remains are still in Nadia's womb.

Sydney walks up next to Tom and says "Tom, can we talk?" Tom keeps staring at Nadia's grave and blankly says "Do you have good news?"

Sydney looks down at the grave herself and says "I talked to my dad just now...Chase doesn't want you back into APO. He tried, but Chase wouldn't budge. I'm sorry." Tom lifts up his head a bit and, still looking at the grave, says "Fine. Project Nadia can still move forward with or without the CIA's help."

Sydney looks at Tom funny. "Project Nadia?" Tom, still staring at the casket, replies "Sydney, the three of us have been nothing but tools for others to exploit. You went through Project Christmas, Nadia went through the Rambaldi fluid bullshit, and I went through Project Alloy. We've been on the receiving end of 'projects'...and now, it's time to start a project of our own. My vengeance against Sloane will be known as Project Nadia. My wife will be known as the powder keg that kicked off my war against Sloane."

Sydney, a little unsettled, says "How are you going to pursue Sloane without CIA resources?" Tom blankly replies "How was I able to massacre the Lobos Rabiosos after my good friend Matt Aguero was ravaged nearly to death? I have my ways...ways that you and the CIA wouldn't appreciate."

Sydney shakes her head and says "You're not that man anymore..." Tom looks at her with a haunting look. "I was willing to do things your way if I could get back into APO. But that door has been closed to me. I have to embrace the man that I was, Sydney. Tom Falk, as you knew him, is dead. In order for me to complete my conquest...I have to become Halcon Diablo again. I cannot show anyone any mercy...otherwise, I run the risk of failing Nadia and my baby girl."

Sydney insistently asks "Tom, why are you telling me this? I have to report..." Tom shakes his head slowly and angrily and says "I can't just sit here and do nothing because the CIA says I can't play with them anymore. I was also hoping, as both my sister-in-law and good friend, that you would be willing to help and share information with me, Mike, and David."

Sydney realizes something. "Why weren't Mike and David at the burial?" Tom replies "They're getting a head start on Project Nadia. They understand what needs to be done. When I said that I will avenge Nadia's death...I didn't have any qualifiers attached. One Falk has already died for Nadia, and so will another if I have to. And just like my mother, I'll succeed...even if it's the last thing I do."

Sydney's jaw goes agape. "Tom, don't do this. Going up against Sloane is a fatal..." Tom snaps angrily "THEN I'LL DIE FIGHTING FOR THE WOMAN I LOVE!"

Sydney steps back a bit from Tom's outburst. Tom, still breathing heavily and looking agitated, says "Sydney, when I say I'd die for Nadia...I didn't say it because it sounds cute or would look good on a Hallmark card! I MEANT it! And as long as I have to keep enduring on this earth without Nadia by my side, I will be fighting for her vengeance! And in order to do that...I have to become the devil again. It takes a ruthless monster to kill a ruthless monster. It's the only way I can succeed, Sydney. So, I'm going to ask you one more time...please help me get vengeance for Nadia."

Sydney hangs her head and defeatedly says "Tom, I..."

"_Sydney, you have to help him!"_

Tom and Sydney quickly look at each other and form shocked expressions on their face. Tom's rage and Sydney's uncertainty is now moot. That voice came from the afterlife...and they both immediately knew who it was.

Tom starts forming a pained and emotional look on his face and bleakly asks "Nadia?"

After a pause, Nadia replies _"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry I took so long to contact you. I just got back from training with your mother."_ Tom's bottom lip starts to quiver and tears start forming in his eyes again. "Nadia...it's you...it's really you..."

Tom drops down to his knees and starts sobbing. "I miss you so much!" Nadia replies _"And I miss you, too. I should have listened to you guys and I'm so sorry I didn't."_

Still crying, Tom says "It's not your fault...you did nothing wrong!" As Tom starts sobbing harder, he says "Nadia...PLEASE tell me what to do! If you don't want me to go after Sloane...please tell me and I won't! From here on out, I'll do anything you ask, I swear! I'm at your mercy!" Nadia strongly replies _"The first thing you're going to do is stand up and stop crying."_

And all of the sudden...Tom feels a pair of hands underneath his shoulders lift him up to his feet. Sydney looks on with shock as Tom gets back to his feet with some unseen help. She confoundedly asks "How was that possible? Mary was never able to interact like that with the living..."

As Tom stands there shocked, he feels a hand wipe across his upper left cheek, then his upper right cheek. After that's done, he hears Nadia say _"Now, you're going to stop crying and you're going to listen to me." _With his tears wiped away from his face, Tom nods quickly and says "Of course. Please tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Nadia then says _"Tom, I know you're not going to like this, but Rambaldi knew that I would die. This was planned in the ultimate prophecy."_ As Tom closes his eyes tightly out of anger, Sydney hangs her head and says "What is the ultimate prophecy? I remember that was mentioned in Tom's manuscript..."

Nadia replies _"Sydney, Tom WILL need your help to complete the ultimate prophecy. You need to get him to produce the ultimate prophecy document. I could tell you what it is...but the CIA will want hard proof of what Tom has to do."_ Tom asks "What am I going to do?"

Nadia says _"You're going to kill my father. You will also destroy Rambaldi's prophecy." _Tom winces at that last part...he didn't want Sydney to know that part of his plan. Sydney, still looking stunned at this development, quickly asks Nadia "Why Tom?"

Nadia replies _"Because Rambaldi had a theory as he was developing his prophecy, and he needs Tom to prove that theory. That's the short answer." _Tom quickly fires back "What theory? What's the long answer?"

Nadia says _"Rambaldi will tell you himself. While you are reproducing the ultimate prophecy document, you'll be taken to see him."_ Tom looks confused. "Taken? How?"

Nadia pauses for a moment, then asks _"Sydney, back in Japan when I was undergoing the Rambaldi fluid treatment, Sloane still had a full IV bag of Rambaldi fluid. The DSR recovered that bag and is holding it along with the other Rambaldi artifacts at their facility in Nevada. Tom will need that Rambaldi fluid in order to recreate the document."_ Tom's jaw drops in disbelief. "You mean...I have to go through that shit you went through in Japan with your father?"

Nadia says _"Sort of. The Rambaldi fluid works differently with you. The fluid will kill you, and you'll be taken to the afterlife to see Rambaldi himself. While you're in the afterlife, Tom, your nervous system will recreate the document." _Sydney then says "Just like it did when you recreated the equation to find the Sphere of Life."

Nadia says _"Yes, although Tom won't be conscious when this is happening. The Lifeforce in Tom's body will still interact with the fluid to give his body a sort of...remote control. He should be sedated first...the cardiac arrest will be painful."_ Tom then asks "Am I going to need a lot of fluid to recreate this? I know you needed a whole lot in order to produce the equation."

Nadia replies _"No. You should have more than enough. It's just one document, not many like my case. I'll stay with your body while you're talking with Rambaldi. Sydney, I'll give you the cue when it's time for Tom to come back. You'll need to unhook the Rambaldi fluid from Tom." _Sydney looks at Tom unsure and says "Tom's not allowed back at APO...if I let him walk through the front door..."

Nadia says _"Tell them I sent you, and if Chase gives you any trouble...I'll handle that. I can physically interact with the living as long as I'm in presence of the man that has The Connection." _Tom starts moving his hands around in front of him and asks "Where are you?"

Nadia giggles a bit and replies _"You should see yourself now, you fool! Only I can feel you, you can't feel me. When I need to, I can feel you and anything else on earth as long as I'm near you. That training is why it took me so long to get back to you. By the way, if you want to know where I am right now...I'm right in front of you." _Tom stops what he was doing and looks forward and tilts his head a little down. "I'd be looking at your eyes if you were standing in front of me."

Nadia affectionately says _"I know. And I'm looking in your pretty dark blue eyes right now. In the future, I'll always be to your right. And eventually, you'll be able to see me."_ Tom quickly asks "How? Is this what my brother was talking about when he said 'I'll see you soon'?"

As Sydney looks at Tom funny, not knowing Tom talked to his brother last night, Nadia replies _"Not exactly. You'll be given a weapon that will help you in your encounter with Sloane. That weapon will help you see me. You'll also need Sydney's help to retrieve it." _Tom nods and says "I can use any advantage I can get."

Sydney looks at Tom and asks "Tom, are you sure you want to go through this?" Tom nods affirmatively and wastes no time in saying "Let's do this. While I'm waiting on the fluid, any information on the whereabouts of Sloane would be..." Nadia cuts him off. _"My father is in Brussels."_

Tom looks forward at where Nadia would be and says "Brussels? How do you know?"With a noticeable whiff of confidence in her voice, she replies _"I've been tracking him. I know where he is every second of the day. __He's using his old Omnifam office as a base."_

As Tom forms a satisfied grin, Sydney then asks "Is he making any progress on locating The Horizon?" Nadia replies _"He's formed an alliance with our mother to help find it."_ Tom suddenly rolls his eyes and says "So, Sloane is using the information Irina has gleaned from my mother in order to find immortality."

Nadia replies _"Tom, Mary hasn't told my mother everything. Mary knows the exact location of The Horizon, but she hasn't revealed it up until this point. She's just given my mother breadcrumbs." _Tom smirks and says "My mother knows the value of information. No wonder she was an agent!"

Nadia then says _"Sloane and my mother are both are making progress, but the location of The Horizon is still unknown to them." _Sydney wonderingly asks "Why would our mother agree to be allies with Sloane? And who's going to get The Horizon when it's all said and done?"

Nadia replies _"Sloane has a plan to profit from the reconstruction of two major cities that would be blown up by nuclear warheads. He's convinced my mother that, if she sent the warheads herself and if she's immortal, they couldn't do anything to her. She can have immortality, and he can make billions. So, Sloane is offering the warheads and the information from Page 47 in exchange for this opportunity. However...from what I've seen from my father, he's probably going to betray my mother somehow. He still wants The Horizon, I can just tell."_ Tom then asks "If you think Irina is going to be tricked by Sloane, why aren't you giving her a heads up?"

Nadia says _"Mary is waiting to tell her. She won't say why, but she insists she has a plan, though."_ Tom goes to ask something, but Sydney then says "Tom, we should be getting to APO. On the way, I'll call and have the fluid transferred." Tom nods and says "And I'll let Mike and David know what's going on and advise them to hold off until I've recreated the ultimate prophecy page."

Sydney and Tom then both take off from Nadia's grave towards their vehicles.

As Tom walks towards his car, Nadia whispers _"I like your house, by the way."_ Tom whispers back "What house?"

Nadia replies _"The one you grew up in. Your family is letting me stay with them. They've been so nice, too! In fact, your brother has some crazy stories about you when you were growing up!" _Tom cracks a smirk and says "Well, I hope he hasn't told you everything yet..."

Nadia laughs and replies _"I get the feeling he hasn't! Anyway, I'll stay with you for the duration of your mission. I'll always be by your side, to the right if possible. And when this is over...we'll be together again."_ As he gets to his car, Tom forms a look of concern on his face and asks "This quest is going to end my life somehow, I take it?"

Nadia replies _"Remember when you first told me about your dream to take me to San Felipe? About spending eternity with me? Well, be careful what you wish for..."_ Tom finishes the statement off "...because I just might get it."

Nadia says says _"No, you WILL get it. You WILL kill my father...and when you do, you'll join me. Not everyone can go where we're going, Tom. We can be whatever, however, and wherever we want. And that includes San Felipe. We can get our house on the shore! I can't wait for you to join me."_ Tom thinks about that for a bit. He was pretty sure he wanted to rejoin Nadia after this...now, he's really sure after what Nadia just described. With that, Tom cracks a smile and says "I can't wait to get there. I love you, beautiful."

Nadia giggles and replies _"And I love you, handsome! And I always will...throughout eternity! Now, let's get going. On the way, we'll talk about some of these stories Eddie was talking about..." _Tom's smile cracks wider and more satisfied as he starts his car and follows Sydney out of the cemetery.

While what happened to Nadia still bothers him greatly, he can take some relief in knowing that, at least in some form, Nadia is back in his life. And above all else, he wants vengeance for her. And if he has to die in the process...at least he knows what's waiting for him on the other side.

And that fact right there has caused his entire perspective on life to change. He's not afraid of what he has to do now. He's no longer afraid to die.

For someone who knows he's going to die not once, but twice because of the Rambaldi fluid treatment...he feels awfully excited about what's to come.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	41. Ch 40: Omnia Vincit Amor

**OMNIA VINCIT AMOR**

* * *

><p><em>Author note: Due to Thanksgiving, this will be the only chapter I post this week. It's a long one, so hopefully it gives you all enough to...chew on until Monday morning! Ok, that was totally cheesy. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO<strong>_

Tom Falk and Sydney Bristow march down the stairway leading into the subway. They know they've probably been spotted together by APO's security cameras by now, but they don't care. They realize they're going to have to be spotted together eventually if Tom is to get back into APO and get Sloane.

They walk through the short metal gate leading up to the short stairs and the front door of APO. Sydney slides her keycard and they walk in together to the empty room with the circuit breakers and power switches.

As Sydney starts to flip the switches and levers to open the front door of APO, Tom smirks as he observes Sydney going through her routine. He asks "Don't you just wish you could work in a place where all you had to do is open a door to get into your office?" Sydney agreeably smiles at that and says nothing as she keeps flipping the switches.

Sydney then flips the last switch and the door leading down the entrance hallway of APO opens up. Sydney and Tom walk side-by-side through the entry way.

They don't get very far down the hallway when Director Chase comes storming around the corner, along with two security officers. She immediately yells "Sydney Bristow, stop right there! You better have a good explanation for bringing an unauthorized...and UNWANTED person in this facility!"

Tom and Sydney stop in their tracks. Sydney then says "We have a way we can get Arvin Sloane." Chase stops in front of them and asks "And what? This..._felon_ is the key? I've already decided Tom Falk was no longer welcome here!"

Tom forms a defiant scowl on his face and says "I know exactly where Arvin Sloane is, and yes, I do hold the key to stopping him! And I'm only a felon because of your bullshit! Of all the crap you've seen happen in your time in the CIA, you decide to play hardball when a career criminal gets roughed up a little? Seriously?" Tom calms down, takes a deep breath, and, now calm and collected, says "Now, let's put our differences aside, and let me help you while you help me avenge my dead wife!" Chase defiantly glares at Tom and says "Look, I'm sorry for your loss...I am. But we're dealing with Arvin Sloane ourselves. We don't need your help. I'll give you one chance to turn around..."

Tom purposefully cuts her off and says "You're wrong if you say you don't need my help! See, when my wife and unborn child were murdered two days ago, little did Sloane know that he wrote his own death warrant! There's a...higher power that was just waiting for Sloane to murder Nadia...and that higher power is going to give me the tools to squash Sloane like a bug!" Chase folds her arms and incredulously asks "Is that so? And just who is this 'higher power'?" Tom slowly and confidently says "Milo Rambaldi."

Chase's eyebrows raise in surprise and she doesn't immediately have a response. Meanwhile, Sydney says "You were there when my father read Tom's Rambaldi manuscript. Do you remember the part about the ultimate prophecy?" Chase replies "Yeah, what about it?"

Sydney says "Tom's here to recreate the ultimate prophecy document. He's going to need the Rambaldi fluid from the DSR to make the document. I've already ordered that it be transferred here. Tom will undergo the treatment, and the document will detail what he needs to do." Chase confoundedly asks "How do you know he needs Rambaldi fluid? That part of the page was cut off..." Tom smirks and says "My wife told me about an hour ago."

Chase, apparently unaware of Tom's connection to the afterlife with his mother, doesn't look convinced and says "Yeah right." Chase looks at Sydney and says "And you actually believe this man's story? I thought you were better than that, Sydney." Chase looks back at the guards and says "Take these two to..."

_SLAP!_

Chase recoils as she holds the left side of her face, which is now stinging in pain. She was just given a HARD slap, but not by Tom or Sydney.

Chase braces her right hand on the side wall of the entry hallway and asks Tom and Sydney "What the hell was that?"

As Chase stands there wondering, Tom turns to his right and, appearing to be looking at nothing at all, asks "Babe?" Then, Sydney and Tom hear Nadia say from the afterlife _"Tell her...that was for keeping my husband in prison for nearly a year."_ Tom smirks, turns back to Chase and cockily says "My wife says that slap was for keeping me in prison for almost a year...and if you don't allow me back into APO, well, let's just say Nadia's not going to be a happy camper! And believe me...it's hard to stop someone you can't see or feel!"

Chase looks back at Tom in shock. "What...that was Nadia?" Tom nods and sarcastically says "And I thought wives were hard to control when they were alive!" Sydney gives Tom a cautious smirk, then turns back to Chase and, now back to being serious, says "You're going to let Tom back into APO after he undergoes the Rambaldi fluid treatment. He's our best shot at hunting down Arvin Sloane!"

Chase shakes her head and says "There is no way..."

All of the sudden, we see the front of Chase's suit jacket pull forward and Chase gets thrown to the ground face first...all by herself. The guards aren't sure what to do about this as there's no one to pull off of Chase.

Then, Chase eyes bug out as her head is forced upwards and she looks like she's being choked.

Tom sardonically says to a choking Chase "Don't say I didn't warn you..." Then, Tom and Sydney hear Nadia yell _"Tell Chase that if she doesn't allow Tom back into APO...I'll keep this chokehold on her and I won't let go!"_

Tom casually walks over to Chase and squats down so he can look at her face, which is starting to change colors from being strangled. With a cocky smirk, he says "After you kept me in prison and took almost a year away from my life, the sadistic side of me is rather enjoying this. However, I am obligated to relay a message from the woman that's choking you right now. Nadia says she's not going to release the chokehold on you unless you allow me back into APO! You might want to listen to her, but hey, that's just me!"

Chase looks back at Tom and still has a defiant look on her face, but also a pained one as she's being choked.

Sydney, meanwhile, looks on at Tom a little disturbed. She knows that Tom has a dark side, but he really hasn't shown it up until now. Watching Tom in action here has her a little concerned that the darkness in Tom is starting to come to the surface. She never wanted to believe Tom had the capacity for being a monster, especially since he's been so nice and compassionate to her and Nadia.

Chase, meanwhile, realizes there's probably no way of punishing Tom and Sydney over this. There's no legal precedent for an assault from the afterlife, and she realizes convincing a judge that she was attacked by a dead woman would probably be a reach. Plus, if they saw the security tapes, they'd probably think she went crazy...

Finally, with her face almost turning purple, Chase sees no other choice and, with her voice tight from being choked, yells "OK! TELL HER TO LET ME GO!" Tom slowly stands upright and doesn't say anything at first. Sydney, seeing Tom's not exactly in a hurry to relay the message, says "Nadia, let her go."

Nadia apparently does as instructed as Chase starts breathing normally again and gets up to her feet.

Chase, still catching her breath, asks Sydney "Is the fluid on the way?" Sydney nods and, trying to get back into the moment, says "Yeah, I ordered it on the way here." After coughing a bit, Chase says "Fine. Have him go through the treatment. I want to observe..."

Behind Tom and Sydney, the door to APO opens and we see Jack Bristow, Marcus Dixon, Michael Vaughn, and Marshall Flinkmann walk in together. All four, who all have gotten a change of clothes since the funeral, seem very surprised to see Tom standing in the hallway, along with Chase looking worse for the wear from Nadia's assault just now.

An alarmed Jack asks "What the hell is going on? What's Tom doing here?" Before Chase or Sydney can respond, Tom simply replies "I'm back...and Arvin Sloane is a dead man walking." Chase then tells Jack "Prepare Interrogation Room 1 for his Rambaldi fluid treatment." Vaughn asks "Why? What will the fluid to do him?" Sydney replies "Tom's going to produce the ultimate prophecy document. The endgame is the death of Arvin Sloane by Tom's hands." Meanwhile, Tom just smirks at that...knowing there's more than just Sloane in that endgame.

Dixon then asks "The ultimate prophecy...you've found out how to access it?" Tom looks to his left, where he thinks Nadia would be, and says "Well, I have friends in high places. You can't see or hear her, but Nadia says hello. She's standing right here." Jack, a little surprised, asks "You can communicate with Nadia?"

Tom smirks and says "Oh, even better than that." Tom then turns left again and says "Nadia, care to give us another demonstration?" Chase emphatically says "THAT...won't be necessary!"

Unbeknownst to her, Nadia, who can only be heard by Tom and Sydney, playfully says _"__I'll __be __gentle __this __time...__"_

All of the sudden, one of the guards slips and falls backfirst to the floor, letting out a loud "OOF!" as he hits the ground hard. Nadia then gasps loudly to Tom and Sydney and regretfully says _"Tell him I'm sorry! I didn't mean to drop him that hard! I guess I'm stronger in the afterlife..." _The other guard, who didn't hear Nadia, fearfully looks at his fallen partner for a bit...then runs away towards the office area in sheer terror...afraid that Nadia's spirit is coming after him.

As he gets up to his feet and holds his lower back in pain, the guard yells "WHAT THE HELL?" Tom holds out his hand to help him up and says "Sorry, my wife doesn't know her afterlife strength yet. She didn't mean to throw you down so hard. She's really sorry."

The guard just nods very timidly as he takes Tom's hand and gets up to his feet...still afraid of angering Nadia, who could be anywhere. Vaughn, Jack, Marshall, and Dixon all look surprised at the demonstration. Vaughn says "Tom, your mother never had this ability!" Tom smirks and says "Nadia tells me that she can physically interact with anything as long as she's in the presence of the man with The Connection in his bloodstream. Turns out our pheromones work more than to just make us fall in love!"

Jack raises his eyebrows a bit and asks "You're going to talk to Rambaldi? I thought the fluid just triggers a muscle memory..." Tom replies "It does. But, unlike Nadia, the fluid will also kill me and, while the fluid interacts with The Lifeforce in my body to reproduce the document, I'll be taken to see Rambaldi. Then, when I'm done with my little chat, I'll return good as new and ready to start the warpath. But, while we wait for the fluid to arrive from Nevada, I'll need my credentials back."

Tom then turns to Chase and sarcastically says "...unless you have a problem with that." Chase, fearful over Nadia, says "No...that's fine. Get his clearance back." Tom smirks and says "Smart move." Jack then says "I'll get you cleared immediately."

Sydney then tells Tom "You can sit in the desk next to me. I'll get you up to date on what's been going on lately." Tom nods and says "That'd be great." He then turns to Chase and cockily says "And I'll make sure my wife plays nice from here on out."

Nadia then says _"I have to check up on my father and make sure Rambaldi is ready for your arrival. I'll be gone for a bit." _Tom then tells everyone "Actually, Nadia's going to take care of some afterlife business for the meantime. You can tell that frightened security guard he's safe...for now."

Marshall then walks up to Tom and, with an unsure smirk, says "Well...welcome back I guess!" Tom turns to Marshall and calmly says "Don't get used to me. My return is only temporary."

As everyone else wonders what Tom means by that, he takes off with Sydney to go to his desk. Everyone eventually follows.

As they approach their desks, Tom turns to Sydney and says "If you can, I'd like any information on Prophet Five and their shot callers. Unfortunately, Nadia's out of the loop on them, otherwise I wouldn't have to ask. But, I have a feeling they're on Rambaldi's death list." Sydney concernedly asks "You don't HAVE to go after them..."

As he sits at the open desk next to Sydney, Tom looks at her with a fiery look. "No, Sydney...I do. They have benefited from my wife's pain and death. If they're not on Rambaldi's list...they'll be on mine." Sydney thinks for a bit, then almost defeatedly nods as she takes her seat at her desk. She's starting to realize that Tom's evil side has indeed arrived.

After he got his clearance back, he was briefed by Sydney and then spent the rest of the time researching Prophet Five members and what little information APO had on the Alliance of Twelve.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO Interrogation Room 1 (a couple hours later)<strong>_

Tom sits on an upright hospital chair, not too dissimilar from the one Nadia sat in in Japan. There's a small tray to his right with a small jar of blank ink and an old style fountain pen. There is a blank manuscript page sitting on a stand. The whole set-up is almost identical to Nadia's set up when she went through the Rambaldi fluid treatment in Japan.

He was given a change of clothes since he arrived. He's out of his funeral suit and into a casual blue t-shirt and athletic shorts provided by APO.

Tom looks over left and looks at his heart monitor. He's hooked up to one so everyone will know when he dies from the fluid and when he's back to life when he returns from the afterlife.

Then...he looks past the monitor and looks at the square strip floor vent that runs along the corner where the floor and the bottom of the wall meet. He sees a section of it is dented and still stained a little red...red from Julian Sark's blood when Tom gave him a curb stomp on it over a year ago. Tom cracks an evil smirk...almost proud that he's left his mark on the APO office somehow.

He's interrupted when Sydney and Jack walk in to the interrogation room. Sydney's holding the large IV bag of Rambaldi fluid while Jack holds on to another needle. As she sets the IV bag up on the stand to the left of Tom, Jack says "We're going to sedate you first. You'll go unconscious before the fluid is administered. You...shouldn't feel anything when you start receiving the fluid. When Nadia gives Sydney the cue, you'll be revived.

Tom then asks "Nadia, is everything set up as it should be? Last thing I want to happen here is a mistake." Nadia replies _"Yes. Everything looks fine. And I just confirmed that Rambaldi is expecting you. Your mother will be present when you talk to him."_

Tom nods and says "Good. I hope I'd have a chance to talk to my mother about what's going on." Nadia says _"She figured you would. After you die, she'll be responsible for retrieving you and taking you to Rambaldi. She'll also escort you back."_

Tom, now ready to get this going, says "Sounds good. Are we ready, Sydney?" Sydney, standing to Tom's left, asks "Tom, I really don't want to be responsible for killing you..." Tom holds up his hand and says "Your sister says I'll be fine, and I trust her with my life."

Sydney reluctantly nods as she rubs some alcohol on the inside of Tom's left elbow. She then takes the end of an IV stem and sticks the needle at the end of it into Tom's left elbow.

She then takes the other needle from Jack and says "Ok, I'm going to sedate you." Tom nods and doesn't say anything as he stares forward. Sydney sticks the needle into the IV stem and injects Tom with the fluid in it. When she's done, she tells Tom "Count back from 10."

Tom counts "10...9...8...seve..." He doesn't complete the seven before going unconscious. He rolls his head down and to the left. Sydney snaps her fingers in front of Tom's face, then looks back at Jack. "Ok, he's out. I'm going to get the fluid going." Jack nods and says "Go ahead." Jack then looks up at the camera and says "Make sure this is being recorded."

Sydney takes the end of the IV tube from the Rambaldi fluid bag. She looks at Tom and takes a deep breath, somewhat afraid to attach the tube to the stem in his arm, knowing the Rambaldi fluid will kill him.

Finally, she sticks the needle at the end of the tube into the stem. The green fluid immediately starts flowing down the tube and into Tom's arm.

The moment it enters his arm, Tom's back arches up and his body tenses tightly. There's no facial expressions or gasps for air, unlike when Nadia went through her treatment, as Tom is now unconscious.

Sydney and Jack watch the heart monitor with some concern as Tom's heart rate start to go crazy. After a few seconds, Tom flatlines and his body relaxes.

For a few seconds, he doesn't do anything. His body remains lifeless, and he's still flatlined.

Sydney, now very concerned, asks "Nadia...what's going on?" Before Nadia answers, Tom's right arm slowly moves to the right and picks up the old style fountain pen. All the while, his heart monitor remains flatlined and his head remains cocked to the left side and lifeless. There's no crazy eye movements like Nadia had.

Tom's right arm dips the pen into the ink jar and then starts writing on the blank sheet. Sydney and Jack immediately take note that Tom is writing in Latin.

He writes in three big words at the top of the page: "Omnia Vincit Amor", then pauses.

As the arm remains paused, Sydney hears Nadia say _"__Everything's __fine __with __Tom. __He __made __it __to __the __afterlife.__" _When she's done saying that, Tom's right arm resumes writing. Meanwhile...

* * *

><p><em><strong>?<strong>_

...the first thing Tom sees in the afterlife is his mother.

He's standing directly in front of Mary Falk. She is wearing a white v-neck long-sleeve shirt along with white khakis. Her hair is still blonde and shoulder-length. Her face looks the same as it always has, with her dark blue eyes almost sparkling. She almost looks downright angelic as she smiles at her son. Behind her, we see she's standing in front of two wooden doors.

Tom starts looking around. Everything is in a familiar shade of blue, like it was when he first went to the afterlife. He notices immediately that this place has an Old World feel to it. He speculates that he must be in old Italy...perhaps taken to the era Rambaldi lived in.

Tom looks back at his mother and doesn't say anything at first. He looks disappointed that he's here, and Mary takes notice of that immediately. Mary cracks a subdued smile and says "Hello, my son." Tom just blankly says "Hi."

Mary then gives Tom a hug and regretfully says "Tom, I never wanted this to happen to you and Nadia. I wanted you two to live out your dream lives together." Tom, who's hugging his mother back, says "I know. You fought and died to try to prevent this from happening. And now, it's happening. I feel more bad for you than anything." Mary shakes her head and says "Don't worry about me. I made my choice in life and there was no turning back once I made it. I just wanted to give you two a chance."

Mary then releases the hug and, as she looks into Tom's eyes, says "I honestly thought you two were on the right path to avoid all of this. I am so sorry." Tom then puts his hands on his hips and says "You could have given us a heads-up when Nadia wanted to see Sloane."

Mary shakes her head again and says "Tom, I don't have the ability to foresee things. Rambaldi's the only person I know of that has that ability. I didn't think there was a danger because I didn't think Sloane had it in him to kill not just his daughter, but his and my granddaughter, too." Tom gets a serious look on his face. "Speaking of my daughter, my brother Eddie told me that Maria may or may not have made it to the afterlife. What did he mean?"

Mary sighs and says "Rambaldi's not sure if she was far enough long to have made it to the afterlife. Speaking of which, you just missed your ancestor." Tom quickly asks "Laurent L'Andre?"

Mary nods affirmatively. "Yes. Rambaldi sent Laurent to try to locate Maria." Mary then smiles and laughs a bit. "I was kind of hoping he'd be here when you got here. I can just see your face when you saw him! You'd probably think you were looking into a mirror!" Tom looks at her funny and says "What, does he look like me?"

Mary stops laughing and says "If you were a few inches taller, you two would almost be identical twins! Rambaldi told me that the sketch in your manuscript was actually a sketch of Laurent." Tom folds his arms and asks "So, what is Laurent like?"

Mary then shakes her head and says "I'll let Rambaldi tell you himself. He's got a lot to say about him. Just a word of warning...be careful what you say. Rambaldi's a little...delicate in his sensibilities. No vulgarities or backtalk, ok?" Tom nods as Mary turns around and opens the wooden double doors.

They open wide into a large office. The walls are tan in color, and a long line of windows face out to the Mediterranean Sea. All sorts of old documents, old tools, and even a large antique globe lie on various tables in the room. The walls feature many Italian paintings, many of them probably very valuable in nature.

Directly to the front of Tom and Mary is an old wooden desk, with stacks of old documents on top.

And behind the desk...sits a man in his early 50's. He's wearing an off-white robe with the hood down on his shoulders. His short hair is an ashy gray blend, with flecks of black hair interspersed with gray and white hair. He's a relatively small man. His face, despite having a couple wrinkles, is friendly, with a wide smile under his hazel eyes. He's also clean shaven.

The man slowly stands up and calmly introduces himself. "Welcome, Caretaker. I am Milo Rambaldi." Tom immediately takes note of his very thick Italian accent.

Tom slowly walks up to the front of the desk and, in a subdued tone hiding his irritation over hearing Rambaldi's nickname for him, says "I'm not much for nicknames. You can call me Tom." Rambaldi cracks a small, understanding smile and says "My mistake, I should have known. Welcome, Tom."

Rambaldi then extends his hand for a handshake. Tom looks at the hand, then at Mary, who gives him an insistent nod...telling him he should shake it. Tom turns back to Rambaldi and reluctantly shakes his hand. As he does, Tom says "I hope you understand my reluctance to be here. Being here means my wife is dead. So, I apologize for not being as...jovial as you are. Please don't take offense."

Rambaldi nods and says "Your demeanor is understood. Please, have a seat." Tom and Mary take their seats in chairs in front of Rambaldi's desk. While they do that, Rambaldi takes his seat behind his desk.

Rambaldi folds his hands on his lap as he leans back and starts off the conversation. "Tom, while you are here in my office, you will have a chance to ask any question you have about the role you have played up until this point...along with the role you will be playing in the coming days. In the meantime, you are recreating your ultimate prophecy document back on Earth. When you are finished, you may cease your fluid treatment and return at any time. The Passenger..." Tom tersely cuts him off and says "She has a name...sir!" Mary looks over at Tom and somewhat angrily says "Tom, what did I just say in the hallway?"

Rambaldi holds up his hand and calmly says "No, it's ok." Rambaldi then looks back at Tom and says "I apologize, Tom, I meant no offense. That was rude of me, after what you just got done telling me about nicknames. Now, as I was saying, Nadia is overseeing the treatment and will give the cue to have The Cho...excuse me, Sydney stop the treatment. However, you can take all the time you need with me. I will give you a chance to ask the first question."

Tom raises his eyebrows and leans back in his seat. "Ok, I'll start with the most obvious question: Why me?" Rambaldi looks at Tom blankly and says "You're going to need to be more specific."

Tom looks at Rambaldi a little funny and asks "Why was I, Tom Falk, a man who came from a town so small it's not even on most maps, chosen to play the role of Caretaker? What made me so special?" Rambaldi nods, seeming to understand the question, and says "Because I knew you would be capable of playing it. After all, you are Laurent L'Andre's progeny, and Laurent wanted to have his progeny play the role."

Tom, trying to hide his desire to be sarcastic, asks "Why did Laurent feel so honored to have me play this role?" Rambaldi replies "Laurent was one of my most loyal apprentices. He was very passionate in life...much like you are. He was smart...cunning...and was eager to explore. That's how he, a man of French descent, came to be under my apprenticeship. He came to my workshop here, a lost man in search of direction in his life. I gave him that direction. And through his work with me, he actually became rather wealthy and happy in life. In addition to helping me around the workshop, his primary duty for me was to secure test subjects for my human experiments."

Tom's jaw goes agape and his eyes bug out at that last sentence. "You've gotta be kidding me...I'm sitting in an Italian Auschwitz right now?" Mary immediately puts her head in her palm out of embarrassment, having told Tom to watch his manners. Meanwhile, Rambaldi calmly shakes his head, but looks like he got the reference as he forms a solemn look. "I understand that human experimentation is very much frowned upon in your society. And no, my experiments were not like what the Nazi's did. In our time, our prisons had problems with overpopulation...much like they do in your society, come to think of it. Laurent went from town to town, searching for the worst vermin he could find...the ones the prisons didn't want. He would bring them back to me, and I would test my genetic experiments on them. If they died...well, these criminals were likely going to die by hanging anyway, so it was just as good to the local police that they were in my hands. Later, when I needed to plant the genetic seeds that would eventually produce you, Sydney, and Nadia, Laurent volunteered to be a seedbearer."

Tom, somewhat intrigued by that last part, asks "Seedbearer. That's how you knew we'd come about...your seedbearers." Rambaldi nods affirmatively. "Yes. The genetic traits that allow you, Nadia, Sydney, Mary, your brother Eddie, your sister Karen and Irina to communicate with each other were planted into Laurent and a Russian apprentice of mine named Aleksander Derevko."

Tom looks over at Mary and asks "Mom, did you know Karen could communicate with us?" Mary smiles and says "I warned her that you were going to ask Nadia to marry you and you needed my ring. She thought it was a dream, remember?" Tom nods and says "Oh, right..."

Tom then asks Rambaldi "So, was this how The Lifeforce came about?" Rambaldi calmly shakes his head and says "Incorrect. That came later, when I started to see the error of my prophecy."

Tom leans forward and curiously asks "The error of your prophecy? You started getting cold feet about what you were doing?" Rambaldi looks at Tom confused and says "I'm afraid I don't know that expression..." Tom quickly replies "You started having doubts about it. That's what 'cold feet' means." Rambaldi cracks a smile and says "I always enjoy learning new things. Thank you for that. I'll admit I'm a little...inexperienced in your era's slang and expressions."

Rambaldi then gets a somewhat remorseful look face and says "To answer your question, yes, I started having doubts about my work. I devoted my entire life to the prophecy, researching the genetic and mechanical nature of it, as well as the moral nature as well. As I progressed, I knew that my prophecy would bring out the worst in people. And much as I suspected, my prophecy has been pursued by people driven by one unifying link: greed. After seeing local politicians and local merchants at work in my time, I had come to learn at an early age that greed was the strongest driving factor in life. The desire for money and power literally consumed people in various levels...some more than others. I made my prophecy to give one man...one single man...the power to live immortal and to control the world...but not necessarily destroy it. I was also curious to see if one man would even be left standing to claim this title. And so, I worked for decades and decades to perfect my prophecy as well as give Aleksander and Laurent the ability to be seedbearers. I would perfect my genetic research and I gave them the necessary genetic modifications to carry down to you, Nadia, and Sydney."

Rambaldi then looks away and sighs. "But then...a few years later, something happened that completely unraveled my whole basis for this prophecy, and left me questioning whether greed was indeed the biggest driving force in people." As Rambaldi pauses, Tom confoundedly asks "Well...what happened?"

Rambaldi turns his head to Tom and says "Late into my research, Laurent moved his wife from France to Italy. He was very protective over her when she arrived, often to the detriment of his work with me. This woman had completely consumed his thoughts now that she was close by. It was also during that time when the local government started becoming hostile towards my work. One day, to make an example, the local police assaulted his newly-pregnant wife. She was injured rather badly, but she would survive. However, the attack made Laurent enraged! This attack on the woman he loved shook him to his core! So, one day, he doesn't show up for his work. I wonder what is going on. So, I go to his home and his injured wife answers the door and, very emotional and sad, tells me Laurent has been arrested and was sentenced to die the next day. His rage had consumed him so much, he started murdering the local police. His goal was to kill up the ranks all the way to the chief...and he nearly succeeded. His love...LOVE, not greed...had consumed him and nearly drove him to his goal. It was at that time that I was developing The Horizon. My initial idea for The Horizon was something that could be drank...giving the person drinking it the ability to be immortal. But no matter what, my compound would kill the host in a matter of 20 minutes. Every time one of my subjects drank the fluid...they would be incapable of pain or physical damage. Their wounds would disappear in a matter of seconds. But, every time they drank the compound, their hearts would explode from producing the extra adrenaline that is created from this compound. So, I had an idea. I had one more vial of this compound, and I asked Laurent how much he loved his wife. He told me he loved her so much, he would do ANYTHING to get vengeance on her attackers. He knew about the compound that was killing my subjects and he told me if he had just 20 minutes left on earth to get vengeance, and his wife and unborn child were killed, he would drink the compound and get that vengeance. Sadly, he didn't have much of a choice at that point except to remain in prison and rot until he was hung."

Rambaldi then hangs his head. "And it was at that very moment, I realized that my prophecy had a major flaw in it. The theory it's based on...that greed is the strongest driving force in people...was being challenged." Rambaldi then looks back at Tom. "Are you familiar with the Latin phrase 'Omnia Vincit Amor', Tom?" Tom cluelessly shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I must have slept through Latin class at school."

Rambaldi chuckles a bit and says "It's a shame that Latin is no longer taught...it is a beautiful language. But...'Omnia Vincit Amor' means 'Love Conquers All' in English. And Laurent had shown me that it was actually love that is the strongest internal force in humans. I went back to observing people and I found that people do some sensational things if they love someone enough. It was profound what I was witnessing! And so, Laurent forced me to change the role I had originally planned for you."

Tom curiously asks "What was my role going to be?" Rambaldi replies "You originally were meant to challenge Sydney, and Nadia was actually going to be Sydney's protector...her 'passenger' if you will. I knew you three would become close, since Laurent and Aleksander were best friends themselves, and I was going to challenge your friendship that way. Your role was to be the Caretaker of the giant Mueller device that made it's debut in Sovogda. Laurent was also protective over my works, so I thought he, and eventually you, would be an ideal candidate for this role. But, when Laurent told me what he'd do for his wife, I had to change things around. Instead, you became the Caretaker to my ultimate prophecy, and I let Sydney and Nadia battle for the fate of the world." Tom hangs his head and says "I've been a bad guy in my life...and I almost became a bad guy in your prophecy. How fitting."

Rambaldi shakes his head. "You still could have been, technically. That is why I left the outcome in Sovogda open...you still had a chance to fulfill my original plan for you. If Nadia died, you'd kill her killer...like you're about to. But if Sydney died, in the madness that would ensue while you were protecting an infected Nadia, the Mueller device would remain intact long enough to have it's desired effect on the world. But, when Laurent showed me the error of my ways, I immediately developed a new compound...one that gives you and Nadia The Lifeforce. It acts as a sort of...communication device. When both Lifeforces are in the same blood stream, they communicate with each other and combine to heal your physical wounds. It also serves to communicate with my fluid that you're being infused with currently. When you recover, the Lifeforce will go to work on restoring your heart functions quickly. The fluid, as well as my compound, will will turn the Lifeforce inward and it's restorative powers will not require Nadia's Lifeforce. Anyway, I injected Aleksander and Laurent's newborn son with The Lifeforce after Laurent was hanged for his crimes. I later developed The Connection, but both Aleksander and Laurent's wife and son had gone back to their homelands and I had lost contact with them, so I had to make The Connection an artifact that needed to be found and injected later. Poland became a middle ground for where Laurent's wife and Aleksander went, and thus, that's where it was placed. I knew, by the time you and Nadia came around, you'd probably be far away and be from completely different backgrounds. So, I wanted to help you two make...'the connection' when you two eventually met. And yes, it still had an effect long after you met. You two were very affectionate over each other, and while the feelings you two had for each other were indeed natural, loving each other was made just a little easier with The Connection. It's also giving Nadia the physical powers she has while you are in her presence on Earth. So, I hope this answers your question."

Tom looks at Rambaldi blankly, trying to absorb the mountain of information he was just given. Finally, he incredulously asks "So...bottom line...the ultimate prophecy is...'Love Conquers All'?" Rambaldi smiles wide and says "That's the foundation of it, anyway! Laurent proved to me that love could drive a man to bring down a strong force, and with a little help, he could succeed. The ultimate prophecy also means it's your responsibility to undo my original prophecy. I knew the death of Nadia would drive you..."

Tom forms an angry look on his face and says "My wife wasn't the only one that sacrificed her life for this...IDEA of yours! My child died, too!" Rambaldi remorsefully sighs and says "Tom, when I envisioned Nadia's death, I was not aware that she would be pregnant at the time. I make no apologies for my prophecy, but I will apologize for what happened to your child. It was not my intent to kill your daughter. I am sorry...and I am working to rectify that."

Tom nods and flatly says "Yeah, you sent my love-struck ancestor out on a hunt for my banana-sized baby." Rambaldi insistently says "If Laurent finds your child, I will bring her to newborn stage."

Tom looks at Rambaldi confused and asks "How the hell do you do that? Do you have a taffy machine here that will stretch her out?" Rambaldi shakes his head. "Remember what Mary told you before: we can look however we want in the afterlife. Since I arrived to the afterlife, I've learned how to manipulate time, so I can make your child appear as she would be if she were a newborn in no time at all."

Tom shakes his head. "It's not the same, though. I wanted to be able to experience my child grow, learn, and meet friends...you know, have a normal childhood." Rambaldi quickly replies "She still can. Life here can operate like normal life if you so choose. When you arrive, I'll show you how you can do that."

Tom slowly nods and says "So, how am I dying? Is it with...this compound of yours?" Rambaldi nods and says "I have hidden The Tonic in Scotland. That is what I had named that compound before I scrapped it's plans and moved on to The Horizon. In your document, you will reveal it's coordinates. Only Sydney can retrieve it. She will need to release a drop of her own blood into a receptacle. She will know where to drop it, as there will be a Mueller device next to it. The device will power the receptacle to be able to read her DNA. Once it is read, she may then retrieve 'The Tonic'. You'll have 20 minutes after you drink it...so, you'll have to use it wisely."

Tom then asks "Nadia told me I'd be able to see her after I drink that compound. How so?" Rambaldi replies "I made a small modification to The Tonic before I hid it. Just like she's able to physically interact with the living in your presence, when combined with The Tonic, The Connection will make the other person injected with The Connection visible to the naked eye, not just to you, but everyone. She'll also be able to pull you into the afterlife, much like your mother just did in order to bring you to me."

Tom nods and then asks "So, who's all on your death list?" Rambaldi leans forward and asks "I take it you're willing to do this endeavor then?" Tom sternly replies "I have nothing left to live for...and everything to die for. And I'm told that I have to do this little deed of yours in order to arrive in the afterlife."

Rambaldi sighs and says "Your brother wasn't fully correct on that." Tom, a little surprised, asks "How so?" Rambaldi says "At the time you wanted to commit suicide, Nadia and Mary weren't present to take you to the afterlife. But, as long as Nadia is next to you...and you're pursuing this goal...if you die, you will be taken to the afterlife. But I didn't write your prophecy with the intention of you dying before you hit your goal. Doesn't mean it can't happen...but...I had a feeling that you would be willing to hunt everyone down before you cross over."

Tom grimly says "And I am. I put equal responsibility on Nadia's death on Sloane as I do your followers. Who all do I need to kill?" Rambaldi says "You know the players that are still left. Use your best judgment. I will say...the most aggressive players have been The Alliance of Twelve, Irina Derevko and Arvin Sloane, and all three entities are working together in some degree. At the minimum, they must go."

Tom nods and looks at Mary. "Did you hear that? I'm going to have to kill the co-founder of the Rambaldi Mother's Club." Mary sighs at Tom's sarcasm and turns to Rambaldi. "Can Tom delegate the death of a person to someone else?" Rambaldi nods and says "Yes, I don't see why not."

Mary nods and turns to Tom. "Leave Irina for Sydney to deal with." Tom quickly asks "Huh? Why?" Mary, who looks like she's trying to find a way to word this right, replies "Because I have a feeling Sydney would rather deal with her herself instead of having you do the dirty work. After all...Irina is her mother, and Sydney still has conflicted feelings about her. Let Sydney decide what to do."

Tom sighs as he sinks into his chair and says "Fine. I'll spare Irina...after all, it WAS her that gave me the go-ahead to marry Nadia. Of course, as long as Rambaldi is ok with it..." Rambaldi nods and says "That is a fair arrangement. Also...Tom, you're going to need to destroy my artifacts."

Tom opens his eyes wide. "Are you kidding me? The DSR has just about every artifact you have! You want me to raid their facility?" Rambaldi smirks and says "In the very near future, you will have an opportunity to destroy them all without having to go to that length. You'll know what to do, trust me. If I were you, my first task would be to pursue that...Edmund Keyes that you found when you were researching the Alliance of Twelve before this meeting. He will be helpful to finding their whereabouts."

Tom thinks for a bit, then asks "Why have me destroy the things you spent so much time building?" Rambaldi replies "As I stated before, the more I furthered my research, the more I realized that this prophecy would bring out the worst out of the worst people. Despite what you may be led to believe in my prophecy, I am not an evil man. Did I get too self-absorbed in my work? Perhaps. I felt that same drive and fanaticism that Arvin Sloane feels now. Looking at how Arvin operates makes me detest how I sometimes felt while my work advanced further and further. And then, when Laurent did what he did for his wife, I realized that maybe greed isn't the most powerful driving force of people's lives. Perhaps love was stronger. And just like how Laurent did what he did out of love, you've expressed a willingness to do what you're going to do out of love. So, why destroy the artifacts? Quite frankly, I think the world will be better off if my work was erased. I realize what I'm saying sounds awfully eccentric, but much was set in motion before I had my change of heart. So, I'd like you to destroy what I have created to prevent my endgame from falling into the wrong hands."

Tom nods, then realizes something. "Ok, I have to ask. Why did I have to undergo Project Alloy? What was the point of that?" Rambaldi leans back in his seat and says "The metallic skeleton was meant to be my gift to the world. I've seen good men...good soldiers die because their loss of limbs from battle or disease. I understand technology when it comes to repairing fractures and such has much improved in your time, but amputations are still sometimes required. So, through you, I thought I could show the world how to give those amputees some hope. You would be the blueprint for making humans whole again. Your spine is specially configured to operate as a normal spine would. In fact, I consider the design of your spine to be one of my crowning achievements. It took me a lot of time and research to make your spine symbiotic with the rest of your body. However, the CIA has not released the information on how to successfully implement your procedure on others, and it's unknown at this point if they ever will. Also...the Covenant made a major mistake in your surgery. I understand you've been having pain in your left arm lately."

Tom nods quickly and says "Yeah...it's a Project Alloy complication?" Rambaldi replies "Yes. You were not meant to have a partial overhaul of your skeletal system. You were supposed to have a complete overhaul, from neck to toe. Since your surgery, the bones in your left arm have been on an island of their own. I don't know how to say this without saying it bluntly: your bones in your left arm are literally dying."

Tom looks down and sighs. "I had a nightmare a couple nights ago where my arm was amputated because of Project Alloy complications...and so were my legs." Rambaldi shakes his head. "Your legs and hips would probably have been fine, although I wouldn't rule out complications later. But the way they did your arm...put you at strong risk for losing it later. The pain you feel is your bones slowly decaying. Pain medication will only help for a while. There'd be no way of reversing the decay, and you would have lost your arm eventually. This would have ended your career and made you feel incomplete to your family."

Tom snaps his head back and says "At least Nadia and Maria would have been ok, though!" Rambaldi, a little taken aback from Tom's outburst, replies "I don't know about your daughter because I never envisioned her. But Nadia would have had problems later in life...problems that would have taken her life. I am unclear about the nature of her death, but from what my vision has led me to believe...she would have died an early and painful death. Maybe during childbirth, but I'm not 100% conclusive on that."

Tom leans forward and furiously says "But the bottom line is still there! My daughter would have been ok...and that would have been good enough for me!" Rambaldi hangs his head and says "Again...I did not envision your daughter. I'm trying to rectify that mistake. It does give me great regret to see your child die as a result of this. Please...I wish you would accept my forgiveness. I would not have gotten you and Nadia involved had I envisioned Nadia dying with a child in her womb."

Tom takes a deep, calming breath and sits back. "If Laurent finds Maria...then you will be forgiven...for whatever forgiveness is worth in the afterlife. But, you will need to show me how me, Nadia, and Maria can live as normal of a life as possible in the afterlife. I still want to feel what I would feel in real life...and that includes things like sleeping, hunger, pain from stubbing my toe on the corner of a dresser...everything that I would feel in real life. I want to raise my child like I normally would, too. I've dreamed of that and worked all my life to be able to experience my child growing up." Rambaldi looks up and intently says "It will be done, you have my word. Laurent is doing his best to find your child, I assure you of that. Laurent's looking for her like he'd be looking for his own child."

Tom nods affirmatively and says "Good." He then cracks a smirk and says "And you can let us live eternal lives in the afterlife. I'm fine with that. By the time I get here, I'll have died three times. I'm not in the mood for dying a fourth." Rambaldi laughs a bit and says "That is very understandable."

Tom leans back forward and says "I need you to do one other thing for me, and talking to you just now, you seem like a fair man...even if your prophecy isn't fair." Rambaldi curiously asks "What else can I do for you? You've been given the tools you need to succeed."

With a serious tone, Tom says "Not everyone gets to come here, but you've been able to get the rest of my immediate family here, except for Karen, who's still alive. I was told in my first visit here that the rest of Storm Crew is here in the afterlife as well. I want you to make sure Mike, David, Karen, Sydney, Vaughn..." Rambaldi holds up his hand and says "Anyone that you consider family or a friend will be sent here after they pass, as well as their family and friends. I'll make sure they're retrieved. Your request goes without saying."

Tom gives Rambaldi a satisfied nod. "Good. By the way, do they have a name for this place? Is 'afterlife' the correct vernacular here?" Rambaldi chuckles a bit and says "'Afterlife' is an accepted name. However, you may also know this place by the name the people in my time called it: Elysium."

Tom smirks at that. "The place where heroes go to live a replica of their lives. I should have known..." Rambaldi nods and says "You may find this a little hard to believe, but I've gone down to earth to watch a few of your society's movies. The movie 'Gladiator' got Elysium pretty close."

Tom suddenly leans his head back in disbelief and his jaw goes agape. "My codename in CIA was 'Maximus'. In Gladiator, General Maximus was a warrior who lost his wife and child to tragic circumstances. He went on a warpath of sorts and, after getting revenge, went to Elysium when he was done. And now, here I am. I was a warrior of sorts, lost my wife and child to tragic circumstances, and am about to embark on a warpath that will end in vengeance as well as a free trip to Elysium. Un-freaking-real."

As Tom continues to stew over the irony of his codename, Rambaldi says "You should be getting back. I judge by the tenor of this conversation we've had that you're going to go ahead with this."

Tom, still with his head leaning back, sighs and says "I guess I don't really have any other choice...besides living. I either get vengeance for Nadia and my baby, then get to join them...well, at least Nadia anyway. Or...I just live out the rest of my life and somehow try to move on. And Sloane gets to become immortal and gets to wreak havoc on the world. There's no way I can allow that."

Tom leans his head back down and looks Rambaldi dead in the eyes. "I'm in." Rambaldi cracks a wide smile. "Good. I'll be cheering for you, actually. After all, I need you to prove that I was right to second guess myself!" Tom then stands up and holds out his hand for a handshake. Rambaldi cracks a somewhat surprised smile as he stands and shakes it.

With their hands still clinched, Tom then says "And I need you to prove what you said about Laurent is true. If he's anything like me, and he is indeed looking for Maria like he would his own child, he'll find her." Rambaldi lets go of the handshake and says "I assure you, he will do his best. Farewell Tom, and good luck."

Tom and Mary then walk out of Rambaldi's office. Rambaldi follows them out and closes the wooden doors behind them.

Tom looks over at Mary and says "So this is what you fought to protect me from." Mary quickly says "I wanted you to live, of course! But, knowing how you feel about Nadia...I'm no longer surprised that you'd go ahead with this."

Tom then forms a confused look and says "Your diary said I was asking about where 'that nice old man' went. Did I come here when I went through the Rambaldi fluid treatment you put me under? Seems like I should remember the conversation I just had..." Mary nods. "Yes, you went here. But, Rambaldi didn't tell you anything. He just let you play around in his workshop, and Laurent escorted you back. You weren't supposed to undergo the treatment so early in life."

Tom then asks "Am I making the right choice to proceed with this mission Rambaldi has tasked for me?" Mary shakes her head and says "Only you can answer that."

Tom sighs and says "Mom, there is no way I can do what I'm about to do without reverting back to the man that was literally called 'the Devil'..." Mary holds up her hand and says "Remember that knife that you had? The one you took from the first man you killed in the Anti-Cartel?"

Tom nods and says "Yeah, the one with the Mayan bat. It's in the bottom of a river now." Mary says "You told Sydney and Nadia that knife represented the gray area between good and evil. That the Mayans didn't view good and evil on their individual merits. The people that the Mayan bat served and protected grew to appreciate the bat for what it did for them, even though their enemies might portray that bat as evil. Tom, a lot of the actions we do in life have that differing effect on people. Some things we do that might seem nice to people...others might view what we do as wrong. Everything we do is left up to interpretation, and it's up to ourselves to judge what is good and evil. Sydney and Nadia knew in their hearts that they worked for the good guys, but they still had to resort to things that didn't make them feel proud in order to do their jobs. And I know you knew that, too. The Anti-Cartel was unique in that you were actually encouraged to think like a cartel member, and that meant being ruthless at times. You knew that was necessary in order to survive and succeed. And now, you realize now that tenacity you had back then will be necessary to tackle these odds you face. Think about why you're going back to that mentality, and who you're doing it for. It's not just Nadia you're doing this for...it's for Sydney, Vaughn, Isabelle, and everyone else on this planet that can sleep in their beds in night in peace and without worry of one, singular man in control of everything. While some might view what you're about to do as evil...think about the people you're protecting by doing this, and think about the Mayan bat's role to the people he protected when you do."

Tom thinks about what his mother does said, then nods confidently. "You're right. I'm doing this because Nadia deserves justice. And you're right about the others that I'll be helping when I do all of this. This is my gift to the world." Mary calmly puts her hand on Tom's shoulder. "I know this hasn't been an easy decision to come to. Losing a loved one is never easy to take...especially one you care about as deeply as Nadia. But, you do have the chance to do something about it while helping others..."

Tom cuts her off with a smirk "...and I've been assured I'll be with Nadia in the end regardless of what happens in the coming days. Which also means...I'll get to be with you and Eddie again." Mary cracks a small smile and says "And your father..."

Tom hangs his head and sighs. "Yeah, I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with that when that time comes." Mary lifts Tom's head up and somewhat sarcastically says "Now, you can't hate a man for eternity, now can you?"

Tom blankly replies "I'm willing to try." Mary sighs and says "Just...hear him out when you get here. That's all I ask. Give him a chance. Do it for me at least."

Tom thinks about that for a bit, then cracks a small smile and gives his mom a hug. "I'll try. Only because you say I should, though." Mary growls a bit and says "Geez, you can be so stubborn sometimes!"

Tom laughs as they release the hug. Mary then holds Tom's hand and, still smiling at her son, says "Let's get you back to APO. You have a job to do."

After she says that, they vanish from the hallway.

* * *

><p><em><strong>APO<strong>_

Back in Interrogation Room 1, Tom and Mary reappear in front of the body of Tom, who just sits there in the medical chair lifeless. The manuscript he just created is gone, and no one else is present in the room...

...except Nadia off to the right of Tom's body.

Tom locks eyes with Nadia for the first time since he dropped her off to see Sloane a couple days ago. Even though Nadia's been present in his life for a few hours...this is the first time he's actually seen her alive and well since she died. He almost starts to hyperventilate over the shock of seeing the love of his life looking and smiling back at him.

Like Mary, Nadia is also clad in all white. She's dressed identically to Mary: long sleeve v-neck white shirt and white khakis. Her long black hair is down, with some of it lying on and down past her left shoulder. We also see that her scar from the piece of glass in her neck that killed her is gone, unlike two days ago when she arrived in the orphanage in Elysium. The diamond heart-shaped pendant Tom bought for her in San Felipe glistens on her chest. Tom also realizes that Nadia is no longer pregnant and is back to her usual, excellent shape.

Tom quickly walks over to Nadia and gives her a strong hug, which is returned by an equally strong hug by Nadia.

For the first time since Nadia died, they get to hold each other in their arms again.

Tom immediately notices that, despite the fact that they're still connected to the afterlife, everything about this embrace feels perfectly real and normal. This gives Tom some comfort, since the feeling of reality in Elysium was a concern of his.

Tom then releases the hug and, still holding on to Nadia's sides, turns to Mary and says "Could you turn away please?" Mary playfully rolls her eyes and, seeing what's coming, turns around as instructed.

Tom then leans in and gives Nadia a very passionate kiss. That feels very real, too.

When they release a bit later, they just lean their foreheads on each other and nuzzle each other a bit, both soaking in each other, especially Tom since Nadia at least can see Tom when he's alive.

Tom then steps back, looks at Nadia's attire, then back at Mary's and sees they almost match. "Ok, Mom. What the hell is going on here? Is white the color of the day in Elysium?" After Mary turns around, she says "Yeah, why not?" Nadia smiles at Mary and says "Besides, I think it shows that we're united in your support!"

Tom looks back at Nadia and say "You know, I'm really happy you two get along so well. I know mother and daughter-in-law relationships usually don't go this smoothly!" Mary irritatedly says "That's true, because you know how I feel about that stuck up bitch you were with for over a decade!" Nadia gasps and says "Mary!" Nadia then looks back at Tom and says "I never heard her swear before! I didn't think she was capable!"

A feisty Mary replies "Well sorry! Tom's ex gets me in a bad mood! Cheating bitch..." Tom and Nadia both laugh at Mary's sailor mouth. Even Mary cracks a smirk at Tom and Nadia's amusement as her irritation fades away.

Nadia then sincerely tells Tom "Tom, I've really gotten to know your mother these last couple days. And after all she's done for me...and done for us..." Nadia then looks at Mary with a sincere look and says six words that hit Mary like a ton of bricks:

"...you're the mother I never had."

Mary gives Nadia a shocked smile and says "Really?" Nadia smiles back at Mary and says "You told me before that you love me like you would if I were your daughter...well, I love you like I would if you were my mother. And I mean that...from the bottom of my heart."

Tom then steps back as Mary quickly walks up to Nadia and gives her a hug. After spending the last years of her life on Earth trying to protect her, and eventually dying for her, Mary looks very emotional over what Nadia just said.

With her eyes watery and still clutching Nadia tightly, Mary lets out a relieved breath and says "You truly are an angel! And I DO love you like a daughter!" Nadia cracks a small smile and says "Thank you for that. You don't know what that means to me."

As they continue to embrace, Tom looks on very touched at them getting along so well.

Finally, Mary and Nadia release the hug. Mary turns to Tom and, trying to compose herself, says "Ok, it's time to get back in your body." Tom looks down at the ground and says "I'll admit...I'm not sure I want to go back now. I just want to stay here with you two." Nadia rubs Tom's arm a bit to comfort him and says "I'll be by your side, I promise. And soon enough, you'll be with us again."

Tom looks up and cracks a small smile at Nadia and says "I hope so. And I promise Nadia...I will not fail you. Sloane will die by my hands...along with the others that Rambaldi wants me to go after." Nadia then curiously asks "What all did Rambaldi tell you?"

Tom laughs and says "You can listen when I explain to Sydney here in a bit. If you have any other questions, I'll answer them on the way to Zurich. I'll admit...it's going to take a while to sort through all he told me." Mary asks "Zurich? Is that where this Edmund Keyes is?" Tom nods. "Yeah, he's based out of Zurich. I need to go through him to get information on the Alliance of Twelve. I'll send Mike to track and fetch him first..."

Sydney then quickly walks through the door to the interrogation room and, now very worried, asks "Nadia, is he back yet?" Nadia turns to Sydney and, sounding filtered as she communicates to Sydney back in the real world, replies _"__Yes, __he __just __got __back. __He's __jumping __into __his __body __here __in __a __bit.__"_

Sydney nods and grabs a syringe that's lying next to real life Tom's lifeless body. As she does, she says "I'm sorry it took me so long to get back in here...I was just informed that the DSR facility in Nevada was just raided. All of the Rambaldi artifacts were stolen. We're trying to figure out who did it."

Tom turns to Mary and smiles wide. "Well, Rambaldi was right. I won't have to raid the DSR facility to destroy those artifacts." Mary nods and says "You're right. Nadia, stay with Sloane for a while. He probably wants the artifacts for a collection. See if you can find out where he's going to keep them." Nadia nods and, her voice staying in the afterlife, says "Got it." Nadia then turns to Tom and says "I'll let you know when I return and find something out."

Tom smiles and says "I love you, beautiful." Nadia grins wide and says "I love you, handsome! Go get 'em!" Nadia then gives Tom a final good-luck kiss on the lips.

Tom, now feeling very inspired, turns to Mary and asks "Just like before, just jump into the body?" Mary nods and says "Yes. Like Rambaldi said, you should feel ok when you're revived. Good luck, I love you." Tom smiles wide and says "Love you too, Mom."

Tom quickly gives Mary a final hug and then turns and hops into his body in real life. Nadia then tells Sydney _"__Ok, __he's __back __in.__" _Nadia and Mary then disappear from our view.

Sydney looks over at Tom's heart monitor and still sees it's flatlined for a few seconds.

Suddenly, a heart beat registers...then another...then another. Sydney observes the heart beats eventually settle into a somewhat quickened pace, but his vitals don't look bad...surprising her a little bit seeing as he just suffered a cardiac arrest.

Sydney walks over to Tom's left side and sticks the syringe into Tom's IV stem. Hearing no objection from Nadia, she injects the reviving agent into Tom's arm.

She steps back as Tom slowly opens up his eyes. He squints his eyes, then blinks repeatedly as he tries to regain his bearings. As he looks around and notices he can't see Mary or Nadia anymore, Sydney asks "Are you alright?"

Tom winces and rubs his chest a little bit as he turns back to Sydney. His heart is a little sore, but doesn't feel any worse than really bad heartburn. He moves his arms around a bit, then says "A little fatigued, and my chest feels like I just ate some really spicy cajun food, but I'm fine."

Sydney then takes a seat next to Tom and says "Tom, we've translated the document. You wrote the entire document in French, except for three Latin words..." Tom cuts her off. "Omnia Vincit Amor...Love Conquers All."

Sydney replies "So, that's what that means." Tom nods. "It's a long story, but here's the bottom line: Rambaldi started playing with a different deck of cards late into his research. He knew his prophecy would bring out the worst in people. His entire basis for his prophecy was that the strongest driving force in a human being is greed. But, Laurent L'Andre, my ancestor that was the Rambaldi apprentice, went on a similar rampage I'm about to embark on over an attack on his pregnant wife...and that unraveled Rambaldi's entire basis for his prophecy. He wants me to prove love does indeed conquer all, since I'll be doing what I'm about to do out of love...just like Laurent did."

Sydney nods, then forms a concerned frown on her face. "In not so many words...the document says you're going to go on a bloodbath. It also says you're going to destroy the artifacts...and that you're going to end up killing yourself with an artifact that I have to find for you called The Tonic." Sydney pauses for a bit, then fearfully says "Tom, I really don't want to find The Tonic. I don't want to get the thing that's going to be responsible for killing you! I was reluctant to administer the Rambaldi fluid just now..." Tom sits up in his chair and says "Sydney, you have to find The Tonic. Otherwise, I won't succeed in killing Sloane."

Sydney confoundedly asks "Why? Did Rambaldi say what's going to happen?" Tom shakes his head. "No. All I know is The Tonic will kill me 20 minutes after I drink it, and during that time, I'll be immortal. It's up to my discretion on how to use it. He seems to believe I'll need it somehow."

Sydney then says "Chase doesn't want you to destroy the artifacts." Tom dismissively shrugs and says "Good for her. What is she going to do to me if I do? I'm a goner anyway. In fact, she was probably tickled when she heard this quest will not only solve her Sloane, Irina, and Alliance problems, but also get rid of a thorn that was sticking out of her side ever since she failed to convict me on attempted murder! Oh, speaking of Irina, I'm leaving that problem for you. She's all yours."

A befuddled Sydney asks "Why would you do that?" Tom replies "Because she's your mother and I know the conflict you feel inside about her. Rambaldi let me delegate that responsibility to you." Sydney agreeably nods, then hangs her head. "I really don't want you to die..."

Tom thinks for a bit, then leans forward and says "Sydney, listen to me." Tom pauses to give Sydney a chance to lift her head back up, which she does. Tom then continues. "I've been given an opportunity here to make the world a safer place to live in. For decades, this prophecy has inspired the worst in it's followers, and me, you, and Nadia have been in the crosshairs of these people for all of our lives, whether we knew about it or not. It drove my mother to abandon me in order to protect me. It's driven your mother to abandon you so she can pursue it. It drove Arvin Sloane to murder his own daughter and granddaughter. It drove me into the arms of a woman who gave me direction in my life after I had lost it, and it has given me focus after that woman was taken from me. With your help, I'll end all this madness. Rambaldi will be thrown into the same category as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I'm going to turn him into a myth! And when I'm done, and after you get Irina, you can sleep easy at night. Vaughn can sleep easy at night after I butcher the Alliance and cripple Prophet Five. He won't be a hunted man anymore. And Isabelle will never have to worry about this prophecy hanging over her and her mommy and daddy's head like a dark cloud. She can live a long, peaceful, and happy life. You know what I think about Isabelle...and if I can make her future a safe one...then it makes everything I'm about to do worth it.

With her eyes a little watery, touched over what he said about her daughter, Sydney says "You really mean that?" Tom nods slowly. "Izzy's a good kid, and I've enjoyed getting to know her when you would have me and Nadia babysit her. And there's going to be a time when you, Izzy, and Vaughn will be living normal, happy lives away from all this bullshit, perhaps in the very near future. My work in the coming days will give you all peace of mind. Besides..."

Tom puts his hand on Sydney's shoulder. "My work will ensure that you and everyone you love get to join us in Elysium down the road. It's a beautiful place, Sydney...believe me, it is. You can look however, be whatever and be wherever you want. This task has given me the rare privilege of knowing EXACTLY where I'm going when I die, and knowing what is waiting for me. Death is nothing but another step we take in life, Sydney, and I accept that. I'm no longer afraid to die. But, we both have obligations on this earth that need to be fulfilled. After I'm done with my conquest, and you take care of Irina, you'll get to be a full-time mother to Isabelle, and you don't have to worry about being called away to missions anymore. I know you've told me you want a life outside of APO...you've told me that you're waiting for your problems to behind you in order to marry Vaughn. I want to help make all of that a reality. And I have a responsibility to protect the future of not just you, not just Vaughn, not just Isabelle, but for the world as a whole. I accept this responsibility with open arms. I have to do this. And I will need The Tonic to do it, and I will need you to take care of Irina. Please help...if not for me...then please, help yourself and your family."

Sydney reluctantly nods and says "Ok, I'll do it...I'll help you. And I really do appreciate that me and my family are in your thoughts. I just wish there were another way..." Tom grabs Sydney's hand and says "As do I. But this is the path that has been laid before me. Rambaldi tells me that the perfect life I had sought for Nadia might not have been attainable anyway."

Sydney asks "How come?" Tom hangs his head. "The pain I've been having in my left arm is from my bones decaying. It's a complication that arose from Project Alloy, because the bones have been disconnected from a normal skeletal system. Sometime down the road, I'm going to lose this arm. He also told me something would have happened to Nadia at some point in the next few years...he speculated it might have been during childbirth." Tom then looks back up and says "Me and Nadia won't have to worry about any of that in Elysium. We won't have to deal with these fears and complications anymore. We'll be free, and we'll get to live the lives that we've dreamed about. And like I said before, you're invited to join us when your time on earth is done. Everyone I love and care about, and everyone you love and care about will be together for eternity. Rambaldi knew his prophecy was anything but fair to us, and Elysium is the payoff for all we've been through."

Sydney gives Tom a comforted smile, then looks down at his left arm and says "Here, let me get that stem out of your arm." Sydney reaches over and carefully pulls the stem out of Tom's arm, then puts a band-aid over it. In the meantime, Nadia says _"__Sydney, __it's __quite __possible __Sloane __is __behind __the __taking __of __the __artifacts. __I'll __look __into __it.__"_

Sydney nods and says "Good. And I guess destroying the artifacts might be the best way to go...if they don't exist, the prophecy can't be pursued. Anyway, your document gave me coordinates for where The Tonic is. It's located in the Isle of Skye in remote Scotland. I'm going to fly out there first thing in the morning tomorrow, but it might take me a day or two to find this." Tom nods as he slowly stands to his feet, still a little fatigued, and says "Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, so I doubt I'll get everything done in a day myself."

Sydney then gives Tom a hug and says "Good luck. I'll let you know when I recover The Tonic. I assume we'll meet in Brussels?" Tom replies "Yeah, when I talked to Mike before I went through the treatment, he said he was securing a safehouse for us in Brussels."

Tom then releases the hug and says "In the meantime, I'm going to stop home and make the final arrangements and write my final will. I'll make it clear who gets what. I'm taking care of my friends." Sydney lets out a despondent sigh at Tom mentioning writing his will and just says "Ok."

Tom tries to give Sydney a comforting smile and says "You've been a good friend to me, and I'll make sure you have enough money to put Isabelle through college all the way through her doctorate. That's my gift to you and her." Sydney just replies "Thank you." She doesn't say anything else...she still doesn't like the prospect of Tom dying, but is comforted he wants to help Isabelle.

Tom then says "When I'm done at home, I'll need a charter flight to Tijuana, then to Zurich. I need to stock up on guns, vests, and ammo for what's coming. I have a safehouse in Tijuana from my Anti-Cartel days that has a cache of weapons." Sydney nods and says "I'll set it up."

Tom and Sydney then walk out of the interrogation room together.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere over U.S. Airspace<strong>_

Tom sits alone in his charter plane. Nadia has yet to return. It's now nighttime, probably sometime around midnight.

Tom finished his will and grabbed some clothes for his mission. He left everything else he owns at the apartment to be dealt with later by his friends.

He stopped by his safehouse in Tijuana and filled two big black duffel bags full of guns, vests, ammo, and other things he might need for this trip. He's actually got enough supplies to supply a small force, but he feels it's better to be safe than sorry.

As he sits in a window seat, he picks up the corded phone in between his seat and the seat next to him and dials a number, then puts the phone to his ear. After a few dial tones, he hears Mike Walcott pick up on the other end. "Hello?" Tom replies "It's Tom."

A relieved Mike asks "Are you on your way?" Tom replies "Yeah, just left Tijuana a half hour ago and I'm in the air. We're all stocked up. How are you doing on finding Keyes?"

Mike replies "Good. I have a meet with him scheduled in a couple hours this morning. I'm posing as a possible business partner. That's where I'll take him." Tom smirks and says "Good. Find us a nice, private place for our little meeting. When I get to Zurich, I'll give you a call and you can fill me in on where we'll meet."

Mike says "Sounds good. Plenty of abandoned warehouses for us to meet in...the challenge will be just picking one." Tom laughs a bit and, before he can say anything, he hears Nadia say _"__I'm __back, __Tom. __I __know __where __the __artifacts __are.__"_ Tom looks right to the empty plane seat where he thinks Nadia would be, then gets back on the phone and says "Hang on a sec, Mike, Nadia has information on Phase Two." Mike, apparently having been told of Nadia's presence before, says "Ok."

Nadia then says _"Sloane did indeed order the artifacts to be stolen from the DSR facility. He wants them as a personal collection, as Mary suspected. He's going to keep them at a warehouse just outside of Brussels in a remote area. It's on top of a valley and has only one way in or out."_ Tom asks "Do you have an address?" Nadia replies _"It's along Poverstraat Road. That's all I know." _Tom smiles and say "That's good enough for David."

Tom then gets back on the line with Mike and asks "David is still in Brussels, right?" Mike replies "Yeah, the safehouse is on the corner of Avenue de la Couronne and Rue du Sceptre. It's in a run-down apartment building. It's no great shakes, and the place is mostly abandoned, but the place we're in isn't too horrible. Should be inconspicuous enough. Anyway, he's there."

Tom nod and says "Good. Tell David to go check out this warehouse where the artifacts are being transferred to. It's on Poverstraat Road outside of the city. Kind of a remote area from what I'm told. One way in, one way out on top of a valley. Hopefully he can find it." Mike replies "I'm sure he can. I'll have him scout it out this morning."

Tom then says "While he's at it, have him get an idea of how much explosives he'll need to level the place." Mike asks "We're blowing it up? Why?"

Tom replies "Because the artifacts have to be destroyed. If they don't exist, no one can pursue the prophecy." Mike says "I realize that, but why blow up the building? Why not confiscate them and destroy them another way?"

Tom cracks an evil smirk and says "I want this to be seen from Sloane's office if possible. Have David evaluate how much explosive is needed...and have him get much more than that." Mike, realizing where Tom's coming from now, says "You don't just want to destroy these artifacts...you want to send a message."

Tom replies "Damn right. In addition to the mission itself, Project Nadia is also about being in control of the hearts and minds of our enemies. We dictate what happens, not them. When I get to Zurich, I'll call you and see if you have Keyes. His capture will kick off Phase One. He'll tell us where the Alliance is. Phase Two will be the artifacts, and Phase Three will be Arvin Sloane's head!" Mike asks "Do we have a plan for Sloane yet?"

Tom replies "No. One thing at a time. When Phase One and Two are done, I'll figure out how we're going to go after that bastard." Mike then says "Ok, have a safe flight. I'll see you when you get in. Strength and honor." Tom smirks and says "Strength and honor, friend."

Tom then hangs up the corded phone and looks right at the seat next to him. As he keeps staring, Nadia asks _"Why are you staring at me?" _Tom smiles and says "I'm just painting a picture in my mind on how you'd look right now."

Nadia giggles a bit and says _"Well, I look exactly like I did earlier today. Does that help?" _Tom smiles and says "Yeah, it does actually."

Nadia concernedly asks _"Did you tell Mike and David about The Tonic?"_ Tom shakes his head. "No...no, I'm waiting on that one. They don't need to know that they're on a mission that's going to end up burying their friend...at least not yet anyway."

Nadia retorts _"It's not like you to withhold information from them like that."_ Tom nods and says "I know. But keep in mind that Mike and David aren't plugged in to Rambaldi like we are. It'll be harder for them to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing."

Tom then takes a deep, sad breath and says "When I was getting supplies at the safehouse in Tijuana, I couldn't help but keep looking over at that safe with the skimmed cartel money I worked so hard to acquire and save up. We were _so_ close to our dream lives, Nadia..." Nadia comfortingly replies _"We still are."_

Tom sighs and says "In a sense, I guess we are, but it just bugs me that I worked so hard and saved so much all my career to build that future for us. And now, it's all for nothing." Tom feels Nadia grab his right hand. As he looks down at his hand, Nadia says _"It's not like that money is vanishing into thin air! You're going to have a chance to take care of Sydney, Isabelle, Vaughn, David, Mike, Karen...you're going to help make their lives so much easier."_

Tom understandingly nods and says "Plus, like I told Sydney, bringing this prophecy to it's knees will make their lives safer, too. I meant everything I said to her, Nadia. This is my gift to the world. And I guess I'll get to have my cake and eat it too because I'll still get to spend eternity living comfortably with the woman that stole my heart..." Nadia laughs loudly and says _"Hey, you GAVE me your heart, remember?"_

Tom laughs himself and says "Well, if you want to be technical, I BOUGHT it for you at a San Felipe jewelry store!" Nadia laughs again and says _"Well, I still have that heart-shaped diamond pendant! I'm wearing it as we speak, actually!"_

Tom smiles wide and says "It looked so beautiful on you, especially during the wedding. Nadia, you surpassed my most optimistic daydreams when I first saw you walk down the aisle. When we danced that night, you talked about moments that you wish you could bottle up and save for a day when we need it. Well, I'll open up the bottle from that dance in the coming days when I'm feeling down." Nadia then says _"When we were together briefly before you went back, when we were holding each other in our arms, I thought of that dance. The song that played, the waves crashing in, our hearts beating as one...I've never had such a perfect moment in my life. Being back in your arms felt right...just like that dance felt so right."_

Tom cracks a small smile and says "It was a great moment for me, too. Our dance was the culmination of everything we both went through. Even though we only got to share those last five months before you died, they were the happiest five months of my life. I can't wait to keep sharing that joy with you." Nadia says _"Hopefully, we'll get to share it with Maria._"

Tom curiously asks "Have you heard anything about Laurent's search?" Nadia replies _"No, nothing. Mary says he's still looking hard, though."_

Tom nods, then yawns loudly. His face looks tired. Nadia apparently notices and says _"You haven't slept very much in the last couple of days, have you?"_ Tom shakes his head. "No. I didn't sleep at all the night you died, and I may have gotten two or three hours of sleep last night."

Tom feels Nadia rub her hand on his chest. She says _"You should get some sleep...tomorrow's a big day."_ Tom looks down and says "I've got so much on my mind, Nadia, I'm not sure I can."

Nadia, sounding like she just had a great idea, asks _"Tell you what. What if I sang you a lullaby?" _Tom looks at the spot Nadia would be in funny at first, then thinks about it for a bit and says "You know...that might actually work. Besides...I like hearing you sing."

Nadia says _"Why thank you! Now lean back and close your eyes. I'll sing you that song you sang to Isabelle when we first babysat her. Remember, over the course of the next few days...you'll never walk alone. I'll always be by your side."_ Tom leans back his seat, closes his eyes, and says "Go for it, beautiful."

Then, Nadia starts singing softly:

"_When you walk through a storm,  
>Hold your head up high,<br>And don't be afraid of the dark.  
>At the end of a storm,<br>There's a golden sky,  
>And a sweet silver song of a lark.<em>

_Walk on through the wind,_  
><em>Walk on through the rain,<em>  
><em>Though your dreams be tossed and blown...<em>

_Walk On! Walk On! With hope in your heart,_  
><em>And you'll never walk alone...<em>  
><em>You'll never walk alone<em>

_Walk On! Walk On! With hope in your heart,_  
><em>And you'll never walk alone...<em>  
><em>You'll never walk alone."<em>

Nadia's singing has the comforting effect she desired on Tom. For the first time in days, Tom is comfortably asleep. He even has a small smile on his face.

She gives Tom an audible kiss on the cheek and whispers _"__Good __night, __handsome.__"_ Tom remains asleep, not hearing Nadia's words.

Tom would sleep for the rest of the trip to Zurich, which would take the rest of the night to complete.

He would need that sleep, too. He had a long and very bloody day ahead of him.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	42. Ch 41: Phase One: Headgames

**PHASE ONE: HEADGAMES**

* * *

><p><em>Note: READER DISCRETION ADVISED for this chapter.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Zurich, Switzerland<strong>_

It's an overcast day in Zurich and the sky looks like it's threatening to rain. There's a general stillness to the air on this day...like the calm before a storm.

Tom Falk drives his blue economy rental car down a street littered with shabby looking buildings and warehouses. Tom looks like he's counting each building he passes in his mind.

Finally, he sees a large gray warehouse to the right. Tom nods and says "Yeah, this must be it. Mike said it's the 5th place on the right..."

Tom turns his car into an open garage door on the warehouse.

When he gets in the dark warehouse, he immediately sees a black cargo van parked in the open space. There's a man tied to a chair and looking lifeless. We see he's in his mid 40's and a little portly, with balding light brown hair and clad in a business suit.

Another man stands next to him dressed in all black. As Tom gets closer, he would see that man is actually Mike Walcott.

Tom parks his car about 5 feet in front of the man in the chair, but instead of getting out right away, he notices the man in the chair is looking rather lifeless. Tom turns to the passenger's seat and asks "Nadia, could you make sure this guy is alive?" After about 10 seconds, Nadia Falk, still in the afterlife, says _"__I __just __checked __his __pulse. __He's __fine, __just __sedated.__" _Tom nods and says "Good. Just making sure Mike didn't go postal."

Tom then takes a deep yet confident breath. He feels almost invincible today. After his conversation with Milo Rambaldi yesterday, he no longer fears death. And because of that, in his mind, there's really nothing else worth fearing anymore. That fact has made him as self-confident as he ever...much like how he was before the Torino mission and Project Alloy took much of the wind out of his sails over three years ago.

Bottom line: Nothing can stop him...and if someone does, he gets to be with Nadia and the rest of his family not named Karen. Win-win. And Tom knows this.

Tom gets out of the car. He immediately walks up to Mike and gives him a poundhug. "Good to see you, Mike." Mike replies "Good to see you, too."

Tom releases the hug and looks at the man in the chair. "So, did Edmund Keyes give you any trouble?" Mike shakes his head. "Nah, nothing more than I can handle. He's been out for a couple hours."

Tom nods, then says "Good work, Mike. And great choice on the warehouse...not much light in here at all." Mike smirks and says "Just what you asked for, right?" Tom smirks back and says "Right."

Tom walks to the back of his economy car and opens up the trunk. He reaches in and pulls out a black bandana. He then closes the trunk and walks back to the front of the car.

Tom then blindfolds Edmund. As he does, he asks Mike "You got that bucket of cold water?" Mike bends over and picks up a metal bucket and hands it to Tom. "Should still be ice cold."

Tom grabs the bucket and quickly throws it's liquid contents onto Edmund, who quickly jerks awake and screams from the chill of the water.

In a rather thick British accent, he yells "Good gracious, that is cold!" He then shifts in his chair and asks "Why can't I see anything? Why are my hands tied? What's going on?" Tom leans in and says "I thought you snobby Brits were all about being formal! Those are the first things you say to a stranger? You don't introduce yourself?"

Edmund stammers a bit and says "Firstly, I can't see you! And second...since I'm your captive apparently, I assume you know who I am already!" Tom lightly pats Edmund on his left cheek and says "Ah, there are some brain cells in there after all. You're right, I know who you are. Although now, I bet you're wondering...who am I?"

Edmund, still shivering from the cold water, says "Yes, who the hell are you?" Tom lets out an evil chuckle as he steps back a bit and says "You can call me...Halcon Diablo."

Edmund thinks for a bit, then says "Wha...what kind of nickname is that?" Tom, now sitting on the hood of his car, replies "Well, it was a nickname given to me by a Mexican gang that I savagely butchered about 10 years ago. I didn't find the nickname particularly endearing myself, but I felt it was appropriate...considering the reputation I have in Mexico over the way I go about business."

Edmund worriedly asks "What are you? Some kind of animal?" Tom laughs and says "Some have called me that. But, I think it undershoots the mark a little. Do you know why they called me Halcon Diablo in Mexico? Do you?"

Edmund shakes his head and says "I assume you have some sort of fondness for falcons?" Tom looks at Mike a little funny. Mike chuckles a bit, but doesn't say anything. Tom then starts laughing almost maniacally and says "Is that the best answer you can come up with? I thought you were smart!"

Tom's smile then erases and he says "They called me the Falcon Devil because only the devil can be as cruel as I can be. See, I didn't just butcher this gang...no...I literally hacked them into pieces. I had to, as a matter of fact. After all, the average Mexican cartel member isn't afraid to die. Most cartel members swear blood oaths upon initiation and agree to put cartel business ahead of their own lives. It's amazing the devotion these people have...and it's quite frustrating when you use typical methods of torture on them. But...one thing a cartel member fears more than anything...is inadequacy. For many cartel members, pride is all they had growing up, and sometimes it's all they still had. But...I came to learn...that if you took away something valuable from them...you can get them to do anything...like sing the Soviet National Anthem backwards!" Tom turns to Mike and asks "Remember when I got that commie-sympathizer Roberto Gomez to do that?" Mike smirks and says "Of course I do. Damnedest thing I ever heard in my life!"

Edmund then asks "What did you take from these people?" Tom slowly turns back to Edmund and sinisterly says "Either their legs...or their arms...or their face...or, if they pissed me off enough...their head. But, that would only be after they gave up the information I was looking for."

Edmund, now frightened, shrieks "You're no animal! You're a monster!" Tom smirks and says "I didn't do anything that a cartel wouldn't do. Amputation was just one of their methods of persuasion and disposal. Some cartels preferred to liquify live men with hydrofluoric acid or sodium hydroxide. After they died and 95% of their body became unidentifiable thick brown sludge, they, along with whatever leftover bone matter that didn't get dissolved, would be put in plastic barrels and driven off into the desert...never to be seen again. I never tried that method personally...but I'm always willing to experiment with the right person!"

Edmund, worried at the prospect of turning into sludge, asks "What is it you want from me? Money?" Tom flatly replies "Money is insignificant to me. I seek something else...actually, some people that you associate yourself with. And if you give up those people...then I won't have to become a...what was it...oh, yes...monster."

Edmund says nothing, unsure of what Tom is referring to. Tom then walks over to the driver's side door and says "Get ready to take off his blindfold." As Mike walks behind the chair, Edmund breathes a sigh of relief and says "Thank you..."

Tom opens the door and says "Don't thank me yet." Tom opens the driver's side door, then looks at Mike, who puts on a pair of sunglasses that were hanging on his shirt pocket, and says "3...2...1..."

Mike yanks off the blindfold and, at the moment he does, the high-beams on Tom's headlights go on. Edmund is blinded by the bright light that is shining into his face. All he can see is white light, which is extremely bright since he hasn't seen any light for hours.

After a few seconds, Tom, still at the driver's side, says "Edmund, you are going to tell me where the Alliance of Twelve are, and when they're meeting. If you do, you're free to go. If not, the blindfold goes back on and we'll do this again later!" Edmund, squinting hard from the bright headlights, says "I'll never give them up!"

Tom rolls his eyes and says "Mike, put the blindfold back on." Mike does as instructed, and Tom turns off the headlights. As he walks back to the front of his car, Edmund asks "What...is this one of your cartel torture methods?"

Tom shakes his head and says "Nah. I just invented that one, actually. But, if you keep being evasive with me...I'll flash these white lights repeatedly until you have an epileptic seizure!"

Edmund defiantly says "I'm still never going to tell. You can do all you want to me...but I'm not saying a word. I guess you can say I have the same devotion to the Alliance as a cartel member." Tom looks over at Mike, who has taken his sunglasses off, and sarcastically says "Well, at least we know we got the right guy at least."

Mike asks "You hungry?" Tom nods and says "I could go for a good bratwurst right about now. I passed a place up on the way here. Whaddaya say we let Mister Keyes think about his devotion to the Alliance for a while?" Mike shrugs and says "I'm down with that."

Tom then turns to Edmund and says "Not that you can...but don't go anywhere ok? We'll be back in a bit." Edmond just sits there and doesn't say anything.

Tom and Mike, meanwhile, get into the car. As Tom turns on the car and starts backing out, he asks "So, what do you think?" Mike confidently replies "He'll break eventually. We haven't even gone the family angle yet."

As Tom backs out of the warehouse, he stops when he clears the opening. Mike gets out and grabs a string from the garage door and pulls it down and shut. He gets back in the car.

As he does, Tom says "Oh, and if you need to say anything to Nadia, she's with us, but only I can hear her." Mike curiously asks "Where is she?" Nadia, only audible to Tom, replies _"I'm sitting in the backseat." _Tom points his thumb backwards and says "Backseat."

Nadia then says _"I think Mike is underestimating this guy. He's going to be harder to crack then you might think. He seems very loyal." _Tom smirks and says "And I seem like a crazy psychopath to him. Funny how perceptions work." Mike turns to Tom and asks "Huh?" Tom turns and says "Oh, Nadia thinks Edmund might be a tough nut to crack. But thankfully...I have a few nutcrackers left to play." Mike turns back to the road and doesn't say anything, but notes that Tom is playing his psycho role rather convincingly...

Tom and Mike continue driving down the street, and they would eventually enjoy a quick lunch.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Tom and Mike pull back in to the warehouse, leaving the garage door open as really the only source of light in the place.<p>

Tom pulls back up to his spot he had before, about three feet in front of Edmund. Tom and Mike notice Edmund is rolling his head around lethargically.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPP!_

Edmund jerks his head up and yelps a bit as his body goes stiff while Tom holds down the car horn with an evil smile, appearing that he's enjoying torturing Edmund here.

Tom releases the car horn, looks over at Mike and says "Blindfold." Mike puts on his shades and gets out of the car. As Tom shuts off the car, Mike stands behind Edmund and gets ready to pull the blindfold off. Mike holds up three fingers...then two...then one...

And as Mike yanks off the blindfold, Tom puts the high-beams on, causing Edmund to squint his eyes tightly. Meanwhile, Tom gets out of the car and exclaims "Wakey wakey! Eggs and bakey!"

Tom turns the knob repeatedly so the lights flicker on and off. Edmund tries to turn away and yells "ARE YOU MAD?" Tom stops and, leaving the lights on, deadpans "Actually, I'm quite happy." Tom turns to Mike and asks "How are you, buddy?"

Mike smiles wide and says "Great, actually. My girlfriend had some wonderful news for me this morning." Tom, knowing he's referring to his sister Karen, curiously asks "Yeah? What?" Mike, still grinning, replies "I'll tell you later."

Meanwhile, Nadia playfully says _"__I __feel __great __too, __thanks __for __asking!__"_ Tom laughs and says to Mike "Hey, my wife told me just now that she's doing great, too! We're just three happy campers, Edmund!"

As Mike smirks, Edmund asks "Your wife? Where is she?" Tom nonchalantly replies "Oh, she's dead. She was murdered a couple days ago by her own father." Edmund quickly says "If she's dead...how are you talking to her?"

Tom chuckles a bit and says "Maybe I am mad, Edmund." Edmund shakes his head and says "Take the 'maybe' out of that sentence and you're spot on."

Tom fake laughs, then forms a serious face and tells Mike "Put the comedian's blindfold back on!" Mike slips the blindfold over Edmund's eyes and Tom turns off the headlights.

Tom walks to the front of the car and sits on the hood. "Edmund...I hope you had time to think about your devotion to the Alliance while me and Mike ate some tasty brats." Edmund nods and says "I did."

Tom folds his arms and says "And...?" Edmund thinks for a bit, then spits on Tom's leg. As Tom looks down at his spit-ridden leg, Edmund angrily says "That...was what I was thinking about."

Tom looks back up at Edmund and just shakes his head. "Edmund...you just spit on a madman...known for mutilating Mexican gangsters...and who claims he talks to his dead wife. I guess you are stupid after all." Edmund shakes his head and says "I'm not afraid of you...and I don't believe your tall tales."

Tom, unflinched by Edmund's doubts, says "Those are not tall tales, my stubborn friend. I know that...because I still have nightmares over what I did to that gang." Tom then forms a demented look on his face. "I can still hear their screams in my head...the varying pitches come together like some sort of twisted symphony in my brain! In fact...I still have the very weapon I used to cut them up! Would you like to see it?" A still-blindfolded Edmund just stares forward and doesn't say anything.

Tom then walks to the trunk and opens it up. He digs into one of his duffel bags and pulls out a large axe. The axe is chrome and has many nicks and scratches on it. It has a long, wooden handle that looks like it's stained a little red...perhaps from blood.

Tom then walks up to Edmund and casually drops the blade of the axe on Edmund's right knee, drawing a bit of blood as it cut through his slacks and breaks the skin just above the kneecap. As Edmund winces a bit from the sharpness of the axe, Tom says "Edmund, what you're feeling on your leg now is the end of an axe that I used to amputate the members of the Lobos Rabiosos...aka the Rabid Wolves. Now, why did I mutilate these people? Don't you wonder what would possess me to do that?" Edmund blankly replies "The thought crossed my mind once or twice."

Tom replies "Is that all, just once or twice?" Edmund says nothing, then winces again as Tom pulls the axe away. Tom then continues. "A good friend of mine was mutilated, ravaged, and castrated by these people before he was returned to our doorstep within an inch of his life. He later blew his own brains out because death was a relief to him. And now...someone that was more than a good friend of mine died a couple days ago. That someone was my wife." Edmund asks "Was The Alliance behind her murder? Is that why you want them?"

Tom chuckles a bit and says "My reasons for wanting to meet them are my own. All you need to know...is that if you don't start talking...you're going to lose your right leg today." Edmund shrugs and says "Whatever. I don't need legs to be of service to my family."

Tom's jaw mockingly drops and and, in mock astonishment, says "Oh...your family! Who's all in your family?" Edmund says nothing. Tom then smirks and says "I know who's in your family...your wife Bonnie and your son Edmund Junior. I know where they live. I know where Junior goes to school. I know what nail place Bonnie likes to go to...I know because she went there this morning...I saw her."

Tom then leans in to Edmund's face and fiercely says "I saw that your wife is pregnant! How far along is she?" Edmund forms a sneer, but says nothing. Tom then shouts in Edmund's left ear "ANSWER ME!" Edmund, with his ear now ringing, shouts "SEVEN MONTHS!"

Tom stand back upright and calmly says "See, was that so hard?" Mike coolly says "Hey Diablo, how far along was your wife before she was murdered a couple days ago?" Tom looks over and somberly says "Five months. My wife was five months pregnant when she was killed."

Edmund sadly says "I'm sorry." Tom looks back at Edmund and says "No you're not! Two hours ago, I didn't even exist to you! And since we've gotten to know each other, I've subjected you to sensory deprivation with the blindfold and headlights, threatened amputating your leg, thrown cold water on you, left you abandoned in a large empty place alone in the darkness, and I just got done yelling in your ear. You could care less about my wife...so don't lie to me. I hate liars."

Edmund shakes his head and says "No one should have to bury their pregnant wife." Tom then squats down and asks "Edmund...how would you feel if I paid your wife a visit..."

Edmund fearfully says "No, don't..." Tom cuts him off and says "Why shouldn't I? Why should you get to experience the joy of childbirth? After all, I couldn't. No, my baby didn't have a chance to open her eyes and see the world for the first time..."

Tom then starts tearing up. With his voice starting to shake, he continues. "...my child didn't have a chance to bond with me while I held her in my arms for the first time...my child didn't have a chance to take her first steps...say her first words...make her first friends...experience the first day of school...she didn't have a chance to experience anything! She didn't have a chance at life!" Tom then wipes his tears away and, still somber, says "How would you feel...if your wife was murdered today...with a child in her womb?"

Edmund, now with noticeable sadness in his voice, says "I would be devastated." Tom shakes his head and, his voice back to being resolute, says "You have no idea, then, how you would feel. Devastated doesn't even come close to how I felt...and how I still feel today. They haven't come up with a word that accurately describes the agony, sadness, and that hollow feeling of emptiness that I felt when I found my wife lying in a pool of her own blood. And they haven't come up with a word that accurately describes the pain and sinking feeling I felt when I couldn't feel my baby kick in her womb...kicks that I was just starting to feel not two days before she died with my wife. There was nothing coming from my baby when I put my hand on my wife's belly...nothing..."

Edmund hangs his head, but says nothing. Tom, noticing how Edmund has softened up, then stands back up from a squatting position and, still eying down Edmund, says "Mike, Bonnie went home as of a couple hours ago. You know where she lives, right?" Mike, a little leery of the prospect of what Tom's asking, says "Yes..."

Tom then nonchalantly says "Go there. Take my axe. Make it bloody."

Edmund, in sheer terror, screams "NOOOOO!" Tom, appearing to not be in any concern over Edmund's fear, says "Too late. You've told me that you won't give up the Alliance. I have no other..."

Edmund then shouts "THEY'RE MEETING TONIGHT IN ZURICH!"

Now trembling out of fear, he then starts breaking down into a sob. "Just...don't hurt my wife...don't hurt my baby girl...please don't hurt them..." The tears then overtake Edmund.

Tom calmly asks "Where and when is the Alliance meeting?" Edmund, in between tears, replies "4th floor...the Bauer Building...the meeting is at dusk...6 in the evening..."

Tom then asks "Do you know the nature of this meeting?" Edmund shakes his head and fearfully says "No...I swear I don't! They never tell me why they meet! But all twelve will be there!"

Tom then thinks for a bit, then, deciding to buy his answer, asks "How does one get access to this building?" Edmund takes a few deep breaths and asks "No! You must promise me you won't hurt my wife!"

A suddenly hostile Tom shouts "I MAKE NO PROMISES UNLESS YOU ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!" Edmund nods his head quickly and says "Ok, ok...the whole floor is sealed off to non-Alliance members or affiliates...unless you're a worker."

Tom curiously asks "Worker? What kind of worker?" Edmund replies "Janitor...server...that's really it. Janitors don't even have access to that floor until after midnight."

Tom inquisitively replies "But, if I were a server..." Edmund cuts him off and says "Not only would you have access to the floor, you would have access to their meeting room."

Tom looks over at Mike and gives him a satisfied nod. Mike nods back, realizing that's going to be the way Tom gets in to see the Alliance.

Tom looks down at Edmund, who has had a blindfold on this whole time, and says "What do I need to do to be a server?" Edmund confoundedly replies "Get hired? They don't hire people overnight, they're very selective!"

Tom then asks "Where do servers enter the building?" Edmund replies "The back, near the loading docks. They go up a freight elevator to get to the third floor, where the meals and drinks are made, then they go back up a private elevator from the kitchen to get to the fourth floor. That's the only way you can get to the fourth floor is through that elevator."

Tom nods and says "Edmund, you've been very helpful today. Thank you for not turning me into a monster." Edmund asks "Does this mean you're not going to kill my pregnant wife?"

Tom replies "Not yet. But if you say one word about me or this whole meeting...I will. If anyone asks where you were...you got mugged and you were knocked out and left lying in a back alley." Edmund asks "Knocked out?" Tom then balls his right fist and says "Congratulations on your daughter."

Tom then winds up and hits Edmund with a right hook to the left eyebrow. Edmund's head goes limp and hangs down from the blow from Tom's Project Alloy arm. He's now unconscious again.

Tom then takes Edmund's blindfold off and sees his punch has split Edmund's left eyebrow and sees it's starting to bleed pretty bad. Tom, not really caring about that, tells Mike "Cut his bonds." Mike, looking a little worried, cautiously nods as he cuts Edmund free from the chair. Tom then lifts him up off the chair over his right shoulder and walks over to the cargo van with his axe.

He slides open the side door and lies an unconscious Edmund down in the van. He lies the axe down in the van, then turns to Mike, who's followed him over, and says "Find a back alley to deposit Edmund in. Meanwhile, I'm going to contact David and have him locate this building for me so I can scout it out. I'll call you and tell you where to meet."

Mike nods and, still looking unsure, asks "By the way...you weren't really going to have me kill his wife, were you?" As Tom walks back to his car, he shakes his head and says "I wouldn't task a friend to do that."

Mike, now disturbed at Tom's mentality, asks "Would _you_ have killed her?" Tom doesn't answer at first, instead opening the trunk and grabbing the two black duffel bags of weapons. As he walks back over towards Mike, he says "Mike, it's 1 in the afternoon. This meet is in 5 hours. Dispose of Edmund, let's meet up at the car rental place after I drop my rental car off, then we'll go in the van to check out the Bauer Building. Let's go."

Tom sets the bags in the cargo van, then walks to his car, leaving Mike really concerned about Tom's psyche. He didn't like what he saw out of Tom at the end of the interrogation.

Tom gets in his car and starts it up. Nadia says _"__You __would __have __killed __her, __wouldn't __you?__" _Tom grips the steering wheel tight out of anger and frustratedly says "Not you, too."

Nadia yells _"Answer me, Tom! Would you have really murdered an innocent, pregnant woman?"_ Tom looks right at where Nadia would be sitting quickly and says "I would have had to really worked myself up to that, Nadia. Edmund would have had to be one stubborn bastard for me to even lay a hand on her."

Nadia disappointingly says _"You'd be no better than Sloane if you went through with it."_ Tom nods and says "I know. In fact, I'd probably be worse. However, I would have brought her here first and sat her in front of Edmund."

As Tom starts backing out, Nadia concernedly asks _"Is this the man you were 10 years ago...when you did what you did to the Lobos Rabiosos?" _Tom shakes his head as he clears the opening of the warehouse and says "Look, talk to my mother about how evil I'm going to have to be in order to succeed here."

Nadia says _"No, she told me last night. It's just...watching you interrogate Edmund was disturbing. You looked too natural."_ Tom casually replies "Don't worry about me. What I have to do is necessary, and that means crossing some ethical and morality lines."

Tom then looks over where Nadia would be and, almost evilly, says "You haven't seen anything yet, babe."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bauer Building, Zurich<strong>_

Tom and Mike sit in the cargo van, in the passenger's and driver's seats respectively. They're studying people going in and out of the 6-story Bauer Building, taking notes on their appearances and how frequently they go in and out.

Tom, picking up on something, says "I haven't seen any servers yet. You think Edmund was jacking with us?" Mike, still looking on at the back entrance, shakes his head and tersely says "No. You scared him shitless."

Tom then says "Yeah, I guess I did. He probably wasn't going to lie to me after I threatened his wife." Mike just plainly replies "Yeah."

Tom notes how short Mike is being with him. He doesn't say anything about that first. Instead, he says "So, I'll probably set up near the large waste container. When I see someone about my size, I'll approach, ask for a light for my cigarette, and then knock him out with the sedative. I'll drag him into the van, undress him, dress up in his clothes, and you can take him to some back alley...not the same one as Edmund...and be back to get me out. Sound good?" Mike shrugs and despondently says "Whatever, it's your show."

A now-irritated Tom asks "What the hell is your problem?" Mike turns and angrily says "We made a vow after we avenged Matt Aguero. Do you remember that? We agreed that we were not going to become the wretched bastards that we were ever again. We even made a vow to never even SAY his name. You've broken both promises. And today, I wasn't going to do your dirty work. No freaking way."

Tom sets down his binoculars and says "Mike, I wasn't going to have you kill Bonnie! I just wanted you to bring her to the warehouse." A hostile Mike says "I didn't know that! We had a general plan for how the interrogation was going to go and you went off script when you told me to go butcher a pregnant woman!"

Tom replies "I went off-script because I saw Edmund was folding like a house of cards and I improvised! The family angle worked very, very effectively and I saw the chance to go in for the kill. Jesus, Mike, you act like you've never been in an interrogation with me before! So, I'm SORRY, Mike, that I didn't stop in the middle of my momentum to fill you in! And guess what? IT WORKED, SO WHAT'S YOUR FREAKING PROBLEM?" Mike replies "My problem is you losing your goddamn mind!"

Tom looks at Mike funny and says "What the hell is this? Did you get amnesia over the past two days? We're not out here on a peace corps mission! You KNEW that this mission would result in the slaughter of Rambaldi followers, including my wife's murderer! We're not here to play nice! When I said Project Nadia is about controlling the hearts and minds of our enemies...I meant it! I want us to be feared! And that means I have to be an evil bastard to stop a greater evil from taking place." Mike sighs and says "It's one thing to be aggressive and tenacious, but it's another to threaten to murder pregnant wives. Even if you had no intention of killing her...you crossed a line."

Tom shakes his head in disgust and says "They crossed the line with me in Torino, when our friends were killed and my back and right arm were smashed into smithereens. They crossed the line with me when they made me undergo Project Alloy and all of the painful months that followed. And Arvin Sloane crossed the line with Nadia so many times in her life, culminating when he murdered her and my unborn daughter! So guess what? I'm going to cross some lines right back! I don't give a flying crap about 'being the better man' anymore, Mike. After me, Nadia, and Sydney were the subject of their projects and their interests, we're the ones in control of them now! Sydney is in Scotland as we speak, looking for a weapon that will give me temporary immortality when I face Sloane. Nadia is with me in spirit, tracking Sloane and giving me good information and advice. If I have to be an evil bastard to protect the world from an immortal megalomaniac...so be it! You have no idea what I've gone through in my life over this shit, Mike! You say you do...but you have no idea! I don't want Sloane, or anyone else, to have their cake and eat it at my expense or Nadia's expense! And Rambaldi's giving me a chance to end what he built because even he...the VERY CREATOR...realizes this prophecy is beyond screwed up! So, I'm going to end it here, and to do that...I have to be more evil than Arvin Sloane."

Mike sighs and turns away. "I realize that you're on a crusade here, and I realize what you have to do. I just don't appreciate being asked to do something that's beyond reprehensible without knowing it's coming. I thought you were being serious when you asked me to 'make it bloody'." Tom sighs himself and says "Nadia thought I was pretty convincing, too."

Tom, still seeing Mike troubled, reaches over and gives him a pat on the back. "Mike, listen...I won't do that to you again. I won't make you do anything that goes against your morals. I know what happened with Aguero bothered you for some time, and yeah, you did make a vow to not go down that road again. But this is my fight. This is retribution for everything that's happened to me, to Nadia, and to Sydney. I'll do the nasty shit and I won't ask you to cross any lines anymore. Let me deal with the moral consequences of my actions. But listen...I do need you, Mike. I can't do this alone. You said Nadia was your friend, too, and I know she appreciates you and David's help here. Just...don't worry about me. And from this point forward, I won't ask you to do anything you wouldn't want to do...even if it's just in jest."

Mike thinks about that for a bit, then nods. "That's fine. And I think your plan tonight will work. How's your French accent?" Tom smirks and, in a mocking French accent says "Very well, Michael! My French is impeccable!"

Mike just shakes his head and says "When the hell did you learn French?" Tom shrugs and, back in his normal voice, says "Took me six months to get through the audio tapes in prison. I'll do fine."

Mike nods and goes back to watching the loading dock. Tom then asks "So, what did Karen tell you this morning?"

Mike lowers his binoculars and hangs his head. "Tom, promise me you won't get upset." Tom looks at Mike funny and says "Why are you so damn afraid to tell me what goes on with you and Karen? I'm just her brother, and you're _like_ a brother to me. So, what's going on?"

Mike looks at Tom and says "Karen's pregnant."

Tom quickly forms a look of shock on his face. As he looks at the floorboard in shock, he blankly says "Well, that came out of nowhere..." Mike says "She's actually about 6 weeks pregnant. Surprised both of us..."

Tom looks at Mike and says "Yeah, no kidding. I mean...she's 41 years old!" Mike nods and says "The gynecologist says she should be able to handle the pregnancy just fine. She's very healthy."

Tom nods, then puts his arm around Mike. With a sincere smile, he says "Congratulations, Mike. My brother from another mother is going to be a dad..." Mike timidly smiles and says "Yeah, no kidding, and your sister is carrying my kid..."

Tom sincerely says "I know you'll do fine. And I know you'll take care of Karen, I'm not worried about that. But...what does this mean for your future plans? I'm guessing you want to be with Karen full-time now, so you moving to Bunker or taking her to New Mexico?" Mike says "I'm moving in to her house in Bunker for now, that way I can help her out in her pregnancy. This mission is my last hurrah in the CIA. I have my skimming money, I have a decent amount saved up from my legit salary, and I'm ready to move on. Kind of like how you were with Nadia."

Tom hangs his head and looks saddened at that last fact. But, before either one of them can say anymore, Tom's cellphone goes off.

Tom picks up the phone and sees it's David calling. He answers, puts the phone on speaker, and holds it between him and Mike. "David, it's Tom. Mike's with me, and so is Nadia, but only I can converse with her. We're on speaker." David says "Hey guys, how are things in Zurich?"

Mike says "Good. We found the Alliance, they're meeting in a couple hours. We have a plan to infiltrate the meeting." Tom asks "Did you find that warehouse?" David says "Yeah...I'm pretty sure this is it. They've been moving these old artifacts into the warehouse all day."

Tom chuckles and says "Yeah, sounds like the place. What's the outside layout like?" David lets out an audible sighs and says "One way in, one way out. One single road that starts at the southeast of the facility and runs along a raised driveway to the street. The warehouse sits on a plateau of sorts with a valley surrounding it. Very hilly, lots of trees...pretty quiet area." Mike asks "What's security like?"

David replies "They have about 7 or 8 people outside of the facility. The truck that delivered the artifacts left earlier and there's a small force surrounding the facility." Tom asks "Any chance of an assault via the valley?" David replies "No. Hills are too steep. Plus, they have a pretty intricate security system in place. Motion sensors that start at the entrance, cameras all around. The approach from the valley would be too slow and they'd be on us like Kirstie Alley on a piece of bacon."

Tom laughs a bit, then says "You have an idea on how much explosive will be needed to take that bitch out after we take it?" David replies "Well, I know a guy in town that sells C-4. Me and Mike have gone through him in the past. We'll probably need a cargo van full of C-4...lots of wiring...I can ghetto-rig a cell phone detonator so it can explode remotely. I can get everything ordered and here by tomorrow morning. It'll take us a while to wire the place." Mike replies "Perfect, go get it set up."

Tom then asks "Any sight of Sloane at the warehouse?" David replies "No. What does Nadia say about him?" Nadia then says _"He's been at the office all day. My mother Irina is arriving at his office during the day tomorrow."_

A surprised Tom says "Irina's going to be with Sloane tomorrow? Are they close to finding the Horizon?" Nadia replies _"I think so." _Tom looks at Mike and says "Sounds like they're close." Mike nods and asks "Nadia, can Tom pursue Sloane without the Tonic?"

Nadia replies _"I'd advise against it. Sloane has Prophet Five troops at the building. You three will be dramatically outnumbered. Tom's going to need The Tonic to withstand the force that Sloane has at his disposal." _Tom says "Nadia says it wouldn't be a good idea because Sloane has some beefy security in place. Gotta wait for Rambaldi's secret weapon."

Tom then asks Nadia "Have you been following Sydney? How's she coming along?" Nadia replies _"Well, she found the coordinates, but there's no point of entry that she can see. At last check, she was trying to find a cave entrance. She wasn't having much luck, though. She doesn't want to dig for it, either. She knows time is of the essence here." _

Tom then apprehensively asks "Nadia...any luck on Maria?" Nadia simply replies _"__No. __I've __heard __nothing.__"_ Tom hangs his head. David asks "What was that about?" Mike looks at Tom curiously as well. Tom just looks up and somberly says "They're trying to find my baby in the afterlife. They're not sure if she was far enough along or not. I'd rather not talk about that right now."

David asks "What's your status in Zurich?" Mike says "Tom's going to infiltrate an Alliance meeting as a server. When the Alliance is dead, we'll head to Brussels in the cargo van. It's about a 7 hour drive, so we won't be back until early morning. Everything fine at the safehouse?" David replies "Yeah, it's not the Taj Mahal, but I haven't seen a cockroach here in about 6 hours, so that's encouraging." Tom smirks and says "Well, with our timetable somewhat accelerated now because of Sloane and Irina's activity, hopefully you'll be back in your beds soon. David, hang in there, check on the warehouse every so often...let me or Mike know if anything funny goes on."

David says "Gotcha. Strength and Honor." Mike and Tom both say "Strength and Honor". Tom then closes the flip phone and puts it back in his pocket. "I really hope Sydney comes through with The Tonic soon. If Sloane tricks Irina and gets The Horizon, then we can pretty much call it curtains on Project Nadia."

Tom then looks down and says "Hey Nadia, I think you'd be better off aiding Sydney for a while. I'm going in in about an hour and a half. You can decide whether to stay with Sydney or come back." Nadia says _"I'll help Sydney look around for a while. With my help, we should find an entry point soon. I'll be back for your mission."_

Tom smiles and says "Ok, babe. I love you." Nadia replies _"I love you, too. Keep the faith. You're not going to fail!"_ Tom, still smiling, says "Thanks, babe."

Tom then gets up and walks back to the back area of the van. "Guess I should figure out which weapon I'm going to use." Mike then says "Can I make a suggestion?" Tom looks back and says "Please do!"

Mike says "Two handheld machine guns that you can place in a covered silver platter tray. You go in to the meeting room, say you're here to serve...calamari, let's just say...and then you pull off the cover and..." Tom pulls out two guns from a bag and says "...and I pull off the cover and reveal two MAC-10's!"

Mike looks at the guns funny and says "Seriously? I thought you had machine guns stronger than MAC-10's!" Tom smirks and says "Using MAC-10's sends a special kind of message that an MP5 just can't do."

A confused Mike asks "That we like to do drive-bys in the hood in our spare time?" Tom nods and says "That you were just killed by guns that were meant to run down pendejos (assholes) in Tijuana! If I can shred some dignity from these bastards before they die, great!"

Mike shakes his head and sits back in his seat. "Alright, I guess you're still the same ol' Tom." Tom laughs but says nothing as he grabs a kevlar vest to put on.

* * *

><p>An hour later, the sun is starting to set in Zurich, and Tom stands in position near the big waste can in the loading dock of the Bauer Building. He's holding an unlit cigarette in his right hand and has his left hand in his coat pocket. The black cargo van is parked behind him next to the trash can.<p>

Tom observes people in white server's uniforms walking by. He doesn't see anyone that fits his own physical description for a few minutes.

Finally, a black-haired man with a short, stocky build like Tom approaches from the left. Tom sees his opportunity and stands out in front of him. In a fake French accent, he asks "Excusez-moi, avez-vous une lumière?" (Excuse me, do you have a light?)

The man, apparently understanding French, nods and stops in front of Tom. He looks down and reaches into his left pocket for a lighter.

That's when Tom takes his opening. Tom pulls out a syringe from his left coat pocket and jabs it into the man's neck. The man tries to fight at first, but eventually collapses forward unconscious. Tom grabs him and drags him toward the cargo van.

The back doors of the van swing open and we see Mike jump out and grab the knocked-out man's legs and helps Tom carry the man into the back of the van. Mike then closes the doors.

A few minutes later, Tom re-emerges from the van in the man's server's uniform. He adjusts his nameplate, which says "Martin" on it. He then makes sure the back of his shirt is pulled down. Then, he takes a backpack and slings it on his shoulder and walks towards the entrance. The van, meanwhile, backs out and drives off.

He looks around and sees there's no cameras at the building. He's not surprised there aren't any cameras. He figures The Alliance doesn't want to draw attention to themselves.

Tom walks into the back of the building and follows a female server to the open service elevator directly in front of them. They walk in and finally, the woman he followed notices Tom and exclaims "Ah, vous êtes appelé Martin aussi!" (Ah, you're name is Martin, too!)

Tom looks over and calmly says "Ouais, c'est mon premier jour. Yat-il un autre Martin ici?" (Yeah, it's my first day. Is there another Martin here?) The woman replies "Oui, mon petit ami! Il est censé travailler ce soir, aussi. Je vais vous présenter à lui, il est vraiment gentil! (Yes, my boyfriend! He's supposed to be working tonight, too. I'll introduce you to him, he's really nice!)

Tom just gives the woman a conspicuous nod, knowing that he took out a Martin to get this uniform. He then hears Nadia playfully say _"__Just __play __it __natural. __No __one __has __to __know __you __met __a __Martin __beforehand...__"_ Tom smirks, but says nothing.

The service elevator stops at the third floor and opens to a busy and large kitchen. Cooks are running around preparing dishes. Tom wonders if this meeting is that big of a deal, but then decides there must be something else going on tonight in the building.

Tom walks out of the elevator and walks with the woman he met, mostly to see where he needs to go.

As Tom walks, he sees an elevator door open off to the left side of the room. It's a very regal and elegant looking elevator, with velvet walls and gold trim. Tom realizes this must be the elevator that gets to the Alliance meeting room.

Tom then turns forward and spots a woman down the way, talking to a chef. She's built very slender and dressed rather basic, with her medium-long brown hair in a ponytail and wearing a seemingly permanent sneer on her face. As she talks to the chef, Tom realizes this is a woman Sydney warned him about.

This woman is Kelly Peyton.

Kelly turns his general direction. Tom notices and casually turns over to the left and starts walking down a row of tables. Kelly keeps her gaze at Tom...with a look like she recognizes him.

As Tom walks down the row, Nadia, in a serious tone, says _"__That's __Kelly __Peyton. __She's __working __with __Sloane. __I __think __she __made __you.__"_ Tom whispers "Let her come. That elevator needs a keycard...and I'm assuming she has one."

Tom turns right and walks into a private corner next to a large walk-in freezer. He sets his backpack on the cutting row in front of him.

He looks up and finds a large silver platter and cover on the rack above the table. He grabs the tray and grabs the cover and sets them on the cutting row.

As he does, he hears Nadia say _"__Kelly __is __coming __your __way!__" _Tom nods as he opens up the backpack and says "Good."

Tom pulls the MAC-10's from the backpack and sets them in an X formation on the tray. He then puts the cover on the tray and tosses the backpack over to the side.

As he does, he hears the sound of a gun being cocked at his right ear. He then hears the voice of Kelly Peyton. "What are you doing here?" Tom reverts back to his French accent and replies "Je ne parle pas anglais." (I don't speak English)

Kelly doesn't buy it and keeps her handgun pointed at Tom's head. "Cute. But I know you're the Caretaker. So I ask again, why are you here?" Tom just stands there staring forward and doesn't say anything.

Finally, Kelly says "Take your tray and walk into the freezer." Nadia then asks _"__Tom, __I __can __take __her __out!__"_ Tom just shakes his head, which Kelly interprets to be a head shake of defeat.

Tom then grabs the tray and turns and, with Kelly's handgun pointed at his head, opens the freezer door and walks in. Kelly follows and closes the door behind them.

Kelly says "Sit the tray on the shelf to the right." Tom walks over and sets the tray on the shelf, then walks back. Kelly, keeping one hand pointing her gun at Tom's head, walks over and opens up the tray and spots the MAC-10's. Kelly then looks over at Tom and says "Funny, lead wasn't on the food menu tonight."

Tom turns over to Kelly and asks "What are YOU doing here?" Kelly cockily replies "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Tom then turns his feet to face Kelly. Kelly yells "Don't move another inch!" Tom looks at her defiantly and asks "Or what? You're going to kill me?"

Kelly holds her ground and says nothing. Tom takes a step forward, apparently not fazed at all by a gun being pointed at his head. Kelly yells "NOT ANOTHER STEP!"

Tom smirks as he takes another step. Kelly now looks a little uneasy at Tom's unwillingness to obey. Tom, meanwhile, has definitely noticed that Kelly hasn't shot him yet.

Tom takes yet another step towards Kelly. One more and his head will be on the barrel. Kelly a little worriedly says "I will shoot you!" Meanwhile, Nadia yells _"__TOM! __WHAT __ARE __YOU __DOING? __I __CAN __TAKE __HER __OUT!__" _Tom smirks and says "Don't worry, babe, I got this." Kelly looks at Tom very confused...wondering who he was talking to just now.

Tom then takes one final step. He leans his forehead forward and presses it to the end of the gun. Kelly now looks at Tom with a somewhat astonished look.

Finally, Tom resolutely says "Do it."

Kelly takes a deep breath, but doesn't take her shot. Tom, in a gravelly voice, says "The sooner I die...the sooner I rejoin my dead wife and baby in Elysium. So go ahead...shoot me! Put one in my brain, you'll be doing me a favor!"

A daring sneer forms on Tom's face after that last sentence. Kelly, connecting the dots, says "The Passenger is dead?" Tom yells "HER NAME WAS NADIA, YOU BITCH!"

Tom then quickly grabs the barrel and presses his head into the barrel hard. "Do it! SHOOT ME SHOOT ME SHOOT ME! DO IT, PLEEEASE!" Kelly doesn't shoot and instead keeps looking at Tom with a look of intrigue, perhaps trying to figure out why he's so willing to die.

Finally, an incensed Tom shouts "SHOOT MEEEEEEEE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"

Kelly forces the gun out of Tom's hand and lowers it while saying nothing, still in total astonishment over Tom's willingness to die.

Tom takes some deep breaths through his nose to compose himself and says "I knew you wouldn't pull the trigger. You're the kind of woman that would rather cut the hands off a man, then laugh when you ask him to clap louder!" Kelly smirks and asks "How did you guess?" Tom blankly replies "We can spot our own."

Kelly curiously says "Let me guess...Nadia is dead and you believe The Alliance is at least partially to blame for her death. Interesting...I wasn't informed of her death." Tom flatly replies "Up until a week ago, we were happily married and about ready to live our dream lives on the beach, away from the CIA or any of this Rambaldi bullshit. And in four months, Nadia was going to give me a beautiful daughter. But...someone decided she needed to die instead so he could pursue the prophecy."

Kelly raises an eyebrow at that. "Arvin Sloane?" Tom just glares at her and doesn't say anything, not wanting to formally tip his hand, even if he just did in a roundabout way. Kelly then forms a content look on her face, perhaps realizing it was Sloane.

Kelly then turns to Tom's MAC-10s and says "You're dressed as a server to gain access to the meeting so you could slaughter the Alliance...who told you about the meeting?" Tom shrugs and says "Just another father who didn't want anything to happen to his wife and unborn daughter either."

Kelly slowly nods and says "Keyes...you got Keyes to talk...well, I guess it won't matter after tonight." Tom tilts his head confused and asks "What the hell does that mean?"

Kelly turns at Tom and smirks. "You might not believe this, but me and you are here for the very same purpose: To murder the Alliance of Twelve." Tom lets out a surprised chuckle and says "Yeah, and I'm Tupac! What's in it for you to kill The Alliance?"

Kelly, still smirking, says "The Alliance is no longer necessary. They'll just get in the way of the endgame. So, I was sent here to destroy them." Tom cracks a wide smirk and says "Well, I think me and you can come to an agreement here, then. We both want the same thing. We want The Alliance blown off the map."

Kelly quickly asks "What are you proposing?" Tom replies "We'll kill them together. You go in and I'll follow with my silver tray of lead appetizers. At my signal, we'll unleash hell. When we're done, we'll forget either one of us were here. I won't say anything to my crew about your presence while you can claim that you killed the Alliance all by your little self. Neither one of us has to die tonight. As much as this might hurt your pride...you're not on my death list. I'm not interested in you."

Kelly chuckles and says "That sounds good and all, but how can I trust a man that has nothing left to lose?" Tom seriously replies "I don't break my promises to anyone...even my worst enemies. Ask anyone I've dealt with."

Kelly thinks about that for a bit. Then, she nods and says "I could use your help. We do the job, you let me go, and I'll let you go. You have a deal." Kelly then extends her hand for a handshake. Tom looks at the hand and then cautiously shakes it after a few seconds. "When are we doing this thing?"

Kelly smirks and says "Right now. Follow me." Kelly steps around Tom to get to the freezer door. Tom grabs the tray of MAC-10's, puts the lid back on, and follows her out.

As Kelly walks toward the private elevator, Tom spots a butcher's knife on the cutting table he was at before Kelly caught him. He looks at Kelly, forms an evil smirk, then grabs the knife and tucks it into the back of his pants...next to what looks like a familiar large silver handgun.

He then follows Kelly over to the elevator. Kelly grabs a black briefcase that was sitting behind her on a cutting table next to the elevator.

Kelly reaches into her pocket and pulls out her keycard. She swipes her keycard through the reader. The elevator dings and the doors open. Kelly steps in with her briefcase, followed by Tom with his tray.

Tom and Kelly say nothing to each other as they go up. Nadia, meanwhile, asks Tom _"__Tom...what was that about__? __You __were __going __to __let __Kelly __shoot __you?__"_ Tom just nonchalantly shrugs, but says nothing.

Nadia then says _"__What's __with __the __butcher's __knife?__" _Tom cracks another evil smirk, but says nothing as the elevator door opens in front of them.

The elevator opens to a west-east hallway. The carpet is dark red and the walls are in a cherry finish. It's very regal-looking, with various pictures lining the hallway.

Kelly walks out and walks right, with Tom following behind her. Tom sees she's walking towards a set of wooden double-doors at the end of the hallway, with gold-plated door handles.

As Tom carries his silver tray of MAC-10's, he asks himself one more time if he can go through with what he's about to do. He's about to slaughter a bunch of men he doesn't really know full of lead.

Tom looks right, to where he thinks Nadia would be. Nadia, perhaps noticing the tension in Tom's face, says _"__Remember, __you're __not __just __doing __this __for __me.__"_ Tom nods understandingly, then winks, signaling to Nadia that he's good to go.

Kelly opens the doors wide and Tom follows in before they swing shut.

Tom sees the Alliance sitting on the table, six members to each side of the long table. They're dressed in very formal suits and they all look like they are happily anticipating something. Kelly didn't tell Tom the nature of the meeting today, so Tom is curious about their demeanor.

Tom, meanwhile, has a poker face as he carries the tray towards the head of the table to the right, where Kelly is heading towards. As he's walking, one member says "Ah, the food's here!" Tom smirks...knowing he's not carrying food.

Kelly sets her briefcase down at the table, then motions Tom to set his tray down next to the briefcase. Tom does as instructed and looks out at the table. Tom's standing to the left side while Kelly is off to the right.

Kelly pops open the briefcase and says "Gentlemen, we have The Amulet." The members all engage in a round of applause.

Kelly then turns to Tom and says "Before I present it, our server has an appetizer for us, don't you?" Tom smirks, then turns back and addresses the Alliance. In his French accent, he says "Gentlemen, you'll find that this course goes down quick...and right..."

Tom looks over at Kelly and, with an evil grin on his face, menacingly says "...now."

Tom flings open the tray and grabs his MAC-10's, one to each hand. At the same time, Kelly opens her briefcase and pulls out a couple of Uzi's. The Alliance members gasp at the sight of the guns and start to stand up.

They would not leave the table.

Tom points his guns at the first member and starts spraying him with bullets. The MAC-10s are loud, but fire very quickly. Tom's shots are precise as the bullets nail the first member in the chest and drop him.

Kelly is firing on the right row and killing Alliance members herself.

With an evil scowl on his face, Tom continues down the row...shooting Alliance members one by one. His shots are true and member after member falls to his guns. Tom's scowl remains etched on his face as each Alliance member falls victim to his guns.

Five of his six members are dead when he suddenly runs out of ammo. He quickly tosses his guns to the side and reaches to the back of his pants to pull out his personal silver Desert Eagle .50 that he kept in the top drawer of his dresser at the apartment. The butcher's knife stays lodged in the back of his pants.

The last member has gotten out of his seat and has turned to run. Instead, Tom, holding the gun with both hands, fires a couple shots and drops him.

Then, he turns his attention to a couple of body guards that are rushing towards him. Staying in his spot at the top of the table, he mows them down with a couple .50 caliber shots.

Tom then turns and sees Kelly finish off the last Alliance member at the end of the table. Seeing she's done, Tom goes down his row and checks each person he shot to make sure they're dead. When he sees one of them twitching, he fires a shot into his head at point-blank range...not really feeling any remorse over it either. The man would stop twitching.

Seeing as everyone he was tasked to kill is dead, he opens the chamber of his Desert Eagle and sees a bullet is in there. Then, he looks up at Kelly Peyton, who is checking her kills.

Kelly looks back up and says "Your guys are dead?" Tom slowly nods his head and says nothing.

Kelly nods and flatly says "Pleasure working with you. Goodbye." Kelly then starts walking towards the doors they came in.

Tom, however, has other ideas.

He points his Desert Eagle at Kelly and says "Not so fast, toots." Kelly stops in her tracks and looks at Tom with a look of surprise. "What are you doing? We had a deal!"

Tom looks at her angrily and asks "Where's this Amulet of yours?" Kelly, still surprised she has a gun pointed at her, replies "I don't have it with me."

Tom cocks back the hammer and says "Bullshit. Where is it?" Kelly shakes her head and says "I don't have it! It's with my boss!"

Tom flatly asks "Who is your boss?" Kelly doesn't say anything. Tom walks up a couple steps and says "If you don't tell me who your boss is, I'm going to blow your goddamn head off." Kelly smirks and says "You won't shoot me. You made a promise."

Tom smirks back and says "Promises are a funny thing. Promises are commitments. Why do people make promises in the first place? Well, to not only ensure compliance, but also as a sign of mutual respect. After all, promises are the...honorable thing to do. Some people make promises because they want to work with these people again while others make promises because it's what Jesus, Allah, or whatever deity they worship would do. But I don't care about either one of those reasons. That's because I don't give a crap about honor anymore."

Tom takes a deep breath and says "The Alliance was on my death list because Milo Rambaldi said I had to kill them. And there's more on that list." Kelly raises her eyebrows at that and says "Rambaldi? How would you know?"

Tom smiles wide and says "Ultimate Prophecy. You Rambaldi followers are the real fools! He wanted me to wipe the goddamn prophecy off the face of this earth...and the Alliance was the start. And it made sense to me, since I wanted everyone that benefited from my wife's pain and death to die. Her pain helped advance The Alliance's plans. And the reason I'm going to break my promise to you...is actually for a couple reasons. One...I know I'm dying soon, and I know where I'm going when I die, and that really changes your perspective on things like 'promises'. Two...I know you're working with Arvin Sloane...the man that murdered my wife. And I'm saving him for last! But, if I let you walk from this, you're going to squeal like a pig to him. And three...you now have benefited from my wife's pain and death. If my wife were alive, you wouldn't have gotten my help tonight."

Kelly shakes her head and says "I didn't NEED your help, I could have killed them myself." Tom shrugs and says "Maybe, maybe not. But, you have to admit I made your life easier. You can thank Nadia for that. And therefore...you now have to die."

Kelly pleads "Wait, we can discuss..."

_POW!_

Tom shoots Kelly in between the eyes. Blood flies out of the back of her head from the force of the shot. Her lifeless body flies back a bit and falls on top of a dead Alliance member.

Tom, without a shred of remorse on his face, lowers his gun and takes a deep, satisfied breath. He looks around and surveys the death around him. Alliance members shot up in their seats...others lie on the ground. Blood everywhere. Death everywhere. He looks back at Kelly and sees that a fairly major player in Rambaldi's endgame hunt is also dead tonight.

Tom, as he stares at Kelly's dead corpse, says "Nadia, you have to admit I did the right thing. She would have ratted me out. I don't want Sloane to know about me at the moment." Nadia replies _"__You're __probably __right.__"_

Tom sees Kelly's clothes being ruffled a bit. Then, he hears Nadia say _"__There __is __no __Amulet __in __her __possession. __It __wasn't __in __the __briefcase __and __it's __not __on __her __person.__"_ Tom shrugs and says "Oh well, no big deal. Just would have been a nice thing to hold as leverage on Sloane. But, I guess I have to go back to Plan A."

Tom then reaches back and pulls out the butcher's knife he took from the kitchen. Nadia concernedly asks _"__What's __that __for?__"_

Tom cracks an evil smile and says "Headgames."

* * *

><p>Back at the loading dock of the building, Tom walks out holding an average-sized square box underneath his left arm. The black cargo van is back and we see Mike inside. We see Tom's white server's shirt has a few new blood stains...stains that weren't there when he killed The Alliance and Kelly Peyton.<p>

Tom casually walks up to the van and gets in. Mike looks at Tom's bloody shirt strangely, then starts driving away.

Tom casually asks "Did you dispose of our server?" Mike nods and says "Yes, I did. How'd it go in there?"

Tom smirks and coldly says "Phase One of Project Nadia is complete. The Alliance is dead." Mike looks at the box on Tom's lap and asks "What's in the box?"

Tom turns back to the road and says "Just a souvenir from the evening's events." Mike intently asks "Tom, what is it?" Tom shrugs and says "I'll tell you later. Just drive. We have 7 hours to Brussels. When you get tired, let me know, I'll probably be up all night. I'll relieve you. I just killed eight people in cold blood, so I've got some mental sorting out to do."

Mike just nods and goes back to driving. Tom, meanwhile, reflects on the night's events. One thing is for certain...

Halcon Diablo has indeed returned.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Brussels<strong>_

A few hours later, Arvin Sloane nervously paces in his Omnifam office. He was supposed to hear back from Kelly Peyton by now, confirming that the Alliance was dead. After hearing nothing, he sent someone to check out the facility.

A call comes on his desk phone. Sloane scrambles over to the desk quickly and notes the caller ID. He picks up the phone and says "George, what's the status?" George nervously replies "I...I have good news and...bad news."

Sloane quickly asks "What's the good news?" George replies "The Alliance is dead. They were all shot to death. But, Arvin, the bad news..."

George pauses, which causes Sloane to frantically ask "George, what is it?" With his voice tight out of fear, he says "Kelly..."

George pauses again, which causes Sloane to yell "What about Kelly? Tell me!" George replies "Kelly is also dead." Sloane quickly asks "How? What happened?"

George replies "I don't know...except..." Arvin angrily shouts "TELL ME!" George takes a deep breath and timidly says "Arvin..."

"...her head is missing."

Arvin's face remains expressionless, but we his eyes start to dart around and we see him take a deep gulp. Who could have done this? Who could have beheaded Kelly?

Meanwhile, we go back to Zurich, where we see Kelly Peyton's headless body sitting on the ground, her back hunched over in front of the left door of the Alliance meeting room. The bloody butcher's knife Tom had sticks out of her back, and her arms are crossed in an X, with Tom's MAC-10s in her hands.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	43. Ch 42: Phase Two: Disease

**PHASE TWO: DISEASE**

* * *

><p><em>Note: READER DISCRETION ADVISED for this chapter as well.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Isle of Skye, Scotland (the day before today)<strong>_

Before Tom Falk went in to wipe out the Alliance of Twelve and Kelly Peyton in the previous chapter, Sydney Bristow was having a dog of a time trying to find how to get to The Tonic...Rambaldi's early prototype for The Horizon that will give Tom temporary invincibility before killing him.

The sun was about an hour or so away from setting over in the western sky, beyond the Atlantic Ocean. The coordinates took her to a remote area near the western shore of the Isle of Skye, south of the outpost of Ramasaig. She arrived in Scotland earlier that morning at the Glasgow International Airport. Because of the long trip to the Isle, she didn't get to the coordinates until about 1 in the afternoon.

Her GPS took her right to the coordinates from Tom's ultimate prophecy page. The Tonic is supposed to be right where she's standing. Problem is, she's just standing in an empty field, and she quickly realized that she must be standing OVER it, and had to look for a cave entrance somewhere.

However, there was not one to be found.

Since she discovered The Tonic must be under her, she's been driving around in her Jeep, aimlessly along the hilly, grassy and occasionally rocky terrain.

As Sydney drives along, she suddenly hears her sister, Nadia Falk. _"Sydney, it's Nadia. I'm here to help."_ Sydney looks to the front passenger's seat and asks "How are things going in Zurich?"

Nadia lets out an audible sigh. _"Tom's getting set to infiltrate an Alliance meeting. But Sydney...his behavior is really scaring me."_ Sydney curiously asks "How so?"

Nadia replies _"Things he's saying, the way he's acting...he interrogated Edmund Keyes and threatened to kill his pregnant wife with an axe if he didn't give up the Alliance. He says he wasn't serious...but I could tell in his face that he would have at least have considered it. Luckily for Edmund, he gave up the Alliance after he said that." _Sydney turns back to the road and looks troubled. "Knowing that he's going to die I guess has changed his outlook on life. He always alluded to things he did in the Anti-Cartel that deeply troubled him. But now, I guess he really has embraced the man he was."

Nadia pleadingly says _"I know Tom...he's not a monster. But...he apparently feels he has to be one to do his job. He's scaring me and I know he's got Mike Walcott worried. I hope this change isn't permanent, but I just don't know. Anyway, I'm here because Tom sent me here to see how you're doing."_ Sydney sighs and says "Not good. I have no idea how to gain access to where The Tonic is."

Nadia says _"I noticed when I checked on you earlier. I talked to Mary Falk before I came here just now. She says to look along the coast for a cave entrance buried underneath some vines. It won't be apparent to the naked eye, but she assured me that is where the point of entry is."_ Sydney curiously asks "If she's so sure...why doesn't she drop by herself and help?"

Nadia replies _"Because she's keeping an eye on our mother Irina. She's connected to her through genetic modifications Rambaldi made to our seedbearers. She doesn't want to lose track of her."_ Sydney, frustrated over not finding the entrance, rolls her eyes as she turns her Jeep towards the coast and says "Tom's mother can be frustratingly vague sometimes. No wonder she was an agent."

After a couple minutes of driving, Sydney parks the Jeep on the coastline. She asks "Nadia, obviously the rules of gravity don't apply to you. Can you scan the coastline for me?" Nadia replies _"Sure, Sydney. I'll come right back when I have something."_

After a couple minutes, Nadia comes back and says _"I found it, Sydney. Turn the Jeep right and go up the coast until I tell you to stop. It's about a quarter mile north on a cliff."_ Sydney rolls her eyes and asks "How much cave am I going to have to go through to get to the Tonic?"

Nadia replies _"About three quarters of a mile of walking. I guess the challenge is finding the entrance." _Sydney smiles as she starts her Jeep back up and heads up the coast. "I appreciate the help, Nadia. It might have taken me forever to find this cave!"

Nadia replies _"Well, don't thank me. Mary tells me that our mother is meeting up with Sloane tomorrow. They're getting closer to locating The Horizon."_ Sydney's smile disappears as she says "So, we're getting to be pressed for time here. Do they have an idea on where The Horizon is?"

Nadia says _"I don't have any specifics and neither does Mary. They haven't openly said anything. But, from what we've both seen, they're acting more confident about it's location."_ Sydney nods but doesn't say anything as she keeps driving.

After being commanded to stop, Sydney gets out of the Jeep and looks down the cliff at a clumped up stretch of brown vines that reach to the rocky shoreline about 100 feet below. As Sydney looks a little apprehensive about the climb she's going to have to make, Nadia says _"It's about halfway down. You should be able to pull the vines apart and enter that way." _Sydney takes a deep breath and starts climbing down the brown vines.

Sydney gets halfway down and spots a hole in the rocky bluff ahead of her. She asks "Is this it?" Nadia replies _"Yes." _Sydney asks "I'm not going to get any surprises in there, am I?" Nadia happily replies _"No...unless you consider a pretty cavern with an underground lake a surprise!"_

Sydney, apparently satisfied that there's no risk here (besides the one she just took climbing down a cliff), pulls apart the vines and squeezes through them. She drops down a little bit and lands on her feet at the edge of the cave opening.

She reaches into her backpack and pulls out a rather strong halogen flashlight. She flashes the light forward and starts to walk into the cave.

At first, all she sees is a somewhat narrow passageway that is neither very wide nor very tall, but tall enough for her to stand upright.

After about 400 feet of straight passageway, it opens up to the huge cavern that Nadia alluded to. She immediately spots the tall stone columns of rock that go up from the ground up to the ceiling. Some of the columns extend out of a lake that is both calm and very blue. A few crystals shimmer in the walls. The whole cavern is massive, much bigger than even a large football stadium.

Sydney shakes her head in awe and says "If this place were easier to get to, I'd totally take Vaughn and Isabelle here. Doesn't look like anyone has been here in ages." Nadia replies _"You're probably right. It's so beautiful, isn't it?"_ Sydney replies "It is! I wonder how Rambaldi or his followers found it." Nadia jovially says _"I don't know...but now I know where to take Tom and Maria for our picnics in the future!"_

Sydney grins, then starts forward and stays to the right side path that wraps around the lake. She looks down at the lake and sees some rather large fish in the lake, apparently thriving in it's ecosystem from the lack of tourists or fishermen.

She finally makes it around the long path around the lake and gets to another average passageway that looks like the one she entered in.

This passageway only lasts about 100 feet before entering into a smaller room with nothing except a notch in the wall ahead with a small Mueller device spinning on it's axis. Two metallic torches light the room. Sydney breathes a small sigh of relief when her GPS beeps that she's back at the coordinates.

She walks up to the notch in the wall and spots an oval-shaped indenture with a tiny hole in the stone shelf underneath the Mueller device. After looking around it for a bit, she says "This must be where I drop my blood." Nadia replies _"It is. Just prick your fingertip. One drop will do."_

Sydney reaches into her pocket and pulls out a needle. She stabs the right side of her right index fingernail, drawing a little blood.

She then holds out her finger over the receptacle and squeezes, allowing a drop of blood to drop into the receptacle.

When the blood goes down the small hole at the bottom of the oval-shaped indenture, it causes the Mueller device to spin faster. We hear an increasingly loud hum come from the device...

_BANG!_

That's the sound of a small explosion off to Sydney's right, causing some rocks to spew from the wall. This causes Sydney to jump back a bit, since she didn't expect that.

_SPLOOSH!_

Sydney looks back forward and sees the Mueller device has disintegrated, releasing some water.

Sydney walks over to a perfect foot by foot square hole to the right wall that was created from the explosion and sees a small box inside of the hole.

She reaches her hand in and pulls out the box. She sees it's a dark brown wooden box, with the words "The Tonic" etched into the wood on top of the box.

Sydney opens the box and sees a small vial of green liquid, about the size of a double shot glass, and corked on top. It's nestled in a cushion of some sort to prevent the glass from breaking.

Sydney then says "Nadia, don't give Tom the good news yet." Nadia curiously asks _"Why? He's going to want to know you got The Tonic!"_

Sydney replies "I think there's something going on with Mary and Irina. Mary's hiding something...I don't trust her." Nadia asks _"Why would you say that?"_

Sydney says "You told us at your grave that Mary won't clue my mother in that Sloane might try to betray her. But yet...Mary keeps stalking her anyway. Something is going on. I want to track my mother for myself. Where is she right now?" Nadia audibly sighs and says _"Sydney, why are you doing this?"_

As Sydney puts The Tonic in her backpack, she replies "Because remember, Tom tasked my mother to me. He didn't tell me how I should pursue her. I want to get the drop on her if I can. But don't tell Tom yet, give me time to hunt for Irina." After some silence, Nadia regretfully replies _"She's...in Hong Kong, but she's leaving for Brussels tomorrow. She's meeting with Sloane tomorrow."_

Sydney, noticing Nadia's reluctance, folds her arms and asks "Nadia, is there something going on between _you_ and Mary? Why are you protecting her?" Nadia replies _"Because Sydney, Mary is the closest thing to a mother I've ever had, and I don't think she would lead us astray. So, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I will say that Mary does have a plan, but she won't even tell me what it is. But you're right, our mother Irina is your responsibility, and Tom did leave you free to do whatever you want with her. I can't stop you. And I'll keep the information on The Tonic quiet. Just...be careful."_

Sydney nods as she starts walking out of the small room and says "I will be careful, I promise. No offense, but I don't want to see you for a few decades." Nadia laughs loudly and says _"The feeling's mutual, sister!"_

Sydney cracks a smile as she proceeds out of the cave.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Brussels, the next day<strong>_

It's about 10 AM in Brussels, Belgium and the sun shines brightly in the sky. Tom Falk, Mike Walcott, and David Marston stand together on the ride of the road, overlooking a small warehouse on top of a plateau.

Tom and Mike look through their binoculars at the terrain and layout. They count eight people outside of the warehouse, patrolling with guns. Three stand near a gate near the entrance. Two men stand along the path leading to the street, and three more stand around the warehouse.

As Tom looks on, he asks "Nadia, can you get inside? Anything going on in there?" After about 10 seconds of silence, he hears Nadia say "_No one's inside. Just the artifacts on display."_

Tom nods and says "Nadia says there's nothing going on inside. What we see is what we're going to get." Mike sighs and says "Three on eight and there's only one way in. This will be difficult."

With a mischievous smile, Tom says "Well, Mike, this is the season of trick or treating! After all, Halloween is tomorrow! And I've got a trick up my sleeve that I've always wanted to experience, but never could up until this point." Mike pulls down his binoculars and looks at Tom perplexed. "What? Can you cloak yourself like Nadia? Because that's the only way I see this working."

Tom lowers his binoculars and asks "David, how many horses are in this Ford Mustang GT you got for us?" David looks back at the red convertible Mustang and says "350 horses. It's flies!" Nadia happily says _"I remember driving one of these when I had to save Jack one time. I love these cars!"_

Tom smirks and says "Well guys, Nadia certainly approves of our mode of transportation. Anyway, this vehicle will be perfect for our attack." Mike confoundedly asks "What's the plan? Just charge in?" Tom smirks and says "Mike, when we were rolling around Mexico, what was the one thing I always said I wanted to do before I die?" Mike shrugs and looks like he's drawing a blank.

Tom walks to the cargo van, open the back and rummages through his duffel bags. He pulls out two AK-47's and three black bandanas. He also digs back into a bag and pulls out a CD and sets it on the floor of the van.

Tom grabs the bandanas and hands one each to Mike and David, then puts one on himself over his nose and mouth, gangster style.

As David and Mike continue to look at him funny, Tom hands an AK-47 to Mike. Finally, David confusedly asks "Tom, what are you doing?"

Tom says nothing and turns back to the cargo van, grabs the CD, and walks over to the Mustang. He turns the ignition to 'run' and puts in the CD.

Immediately, we hear Delinquent Habits 'Return of the Tres' (_Note: __a __popular __Mexican __rap __song) _start to play through the car speakers.

Tom gets out of the Mustang, puts on his black sunglasses, cocks his AK-47, and, with his bandana still on over his mouth, says "Who's up for a drive-by today?"

Mike and David both turn to each other and look at each other funny. Then, at about the same time, they both shrug and nod affirmatively. David says "That's about the only way this could work, really." Mike says "Yeah, fast and heavy. Let's do it."

Tom says "Strap on some vests. David, you drive. Mike, you take the guys on the left, I'll get the right. We'll come back and grab the cargo van when we're done. It's filled to the gills with C4, so obviously we don't want it to get shot at. Nadia, just sit tight, you're our secret weapon, and we'll reveal you to our enemies later. Let's roll, guys!"

* * *

><p>The Mustang whips around the corner and takes off down the long bottleneck entrance. We see Mike and David have since put on their bandanas.<p>

The five men along the entrance stand in position. One of them yells back to the three at the warehouse "INCOMING!" We see one of the men at the warehouse get on a walkie-talkie and say "We're under attack!" A voice on the walkie asks "By who?" The man, dumbfounded, yells "They...look like Mexican gangsters!"

Meanwhile, David continues to barrel down the path, rap music still blaring from the speakers. Tom is the first to fire, as he starts firing at one of the two lead men down the path. His shots are true and the first man is dead.

Mike takes care of other the guy on the left easily, then turns up and shoots at two men on the left side of the gate down the way. They fire back and a few bullets plink off the hood, but they don't phase Tom, who's shooting at the third man.

Mike eventually shoots his two guys and Tom gets the third. Then, Tom and Mike sit down as David goes crashing through the metal fence gate.

After the gate goes flying over their heads, Tom and Mike stand back up and open fire on the three men guarding the warehouse. Tom kills one of them, but runs out of ammo and reaches into his pocket for a new cartridge.

However, as he's replacing his cartridge, he's shot. He quickly collapses down into the passenger's seat in a heap, holding his belly.

David yells "TOM!" Tom yells "I'M FINE!" Mike, meanwhile, keeps shooting at the men guarding the warehouse. He gets one...and then the other as he was starting to run away.

David stops the car when the last man is dead and leans over to Tom. Tom looks over at David and laughs. "Hit me in the vest, I'm good!" Tom then removes his right hand from his gut and we see a smashed bullet on the vest.

Tom then looks around and asks "Is that all of them?" Mike nods. "Yeah, all eight are dead." Mike then pats David on the shoulder and smiles. "Good driving!" Tom gives David a few pats on the back and says "Yeah, great job!" David just shyly looks down and shrugs. "That was kind of fun, actually! Now I can officially say I was the wheelman in a drive-by...for whatever it's worth!"

Tom laughs a bit, then says "You two go back and grab the van and meet me at the entrance. We need to get started on wiring this sucker immediately." David nods as Tom steps out of the Mustang. David then drives off with Mike still in the vehicle.

Tom looks around and surveys the downed men. As he does...he hears someone shouting on a walkie-talkie "WHAT'S GOING ON? IS ANYONE THERE?"

Tom pulls down his bandana from over his mouth and lets it hang at his neck. He cracks a devilish smirk...realizing who's voice that is he's hearing. It's Arvin Sloane's voice, and he wants an update.

And as Tom stares at the walkie-talkie...he suddenly feels inclined to give him that update.

He walks over to the walkie-talkie and picks it up off the ground. He presses down the talk button and says in a sinister Mexican accent "Órale, Sloane!" (What's up, Sloane!) We hear Sloane tersely ask through the walkie "Who the hell are you?"

Tom thinks for a bit, then cracks his devilish smirk and calmly says "Estoy...Halcon Diablo." (I am the Falcon Devil.)

After a bit of silence, Sloane curiously asks "Tom Falk?" Tom growls "NO! Tom Falk died when Nadia Falk died and Maria Falk died in her womb! I'm no longer the loving husband and expectant father that I was for the past five months, Arvin...you have made me into something inhuman! Something with no regard for morals or his own life! Arvin, I have become a disease...a Rambaldi-created disease! AND THERE IS NO CURE FOR ME UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD!"

Sloane concernedly asks "Rambaldi-created? What are you talking about?" Tom smirks and, back to being relaxed, says "As usual, you care more about this stupid freaking prophecy than anything...including the fact that I'm going to kill you. In time, you'll find out the answer to your question. In the meantime, your artifacts are mine. When I'm ready to talk more...you'll hear from me, but only when I'm ready. I'm in control here...I hold the cards."

Sloane angrily says "I'm not going to just let you take my artifacts without a fight." Tom confidently replies "But somehow, I doubt you'll be leading the troops, you spineless maggot! That's ok, I'm still going to collect your head for my collection eventually. I'm out. Good guys win, bad guys lose...Project Nadia prevails!"

Before Sloane can respond anymore, Tom clicks off the walkie, takes off the battery, and tosses it down the valley. He then walks down the side of the warehouse and tosses the actual walkie-talkie down the valley as well.

As he does, he turns and sees the Mustang and the cargo van being driven down the main drag to the warehouse.

Tom casually walks up to the front of the warehouse as David starts backing the van towards the entrance of the warehouse, which is a garage door on the front right side that faces the long bottleneck dirt entrance to the warehouse.

Mike has already gotten out of the Mustang and asks "What were you just throwing down the hill?" Tom casually replies "One of these guys had a walkie-talkie. And now...he doesn't."

Mike asks "Was Sloane on the other end of the walkie-talkie?" Tom slowly nods and says "Oh yeah, we had a nice chat. Expect retaliation from him."

As Mike throws up his arms in disgust, Tom turns right and says "Nadia, hang out with daddy for a while, let me know when he's sending someone." Nadia replies "_Ok...but, __I __don't __think __it __was __wise __to __talk __to __Sloane __like __that.__"_ Tom shrugs and says "And it's not wise to tell someone with a connection to the afterlife that you're going to retaliate! After all, you'll clue me in on the attack, and there's no element of surprise! And we can use the bottleneck entrance to our advantage. Just let me know when he's going to send some goons from Mercs-R-Us. We'll be ready." Nadia says _"__Ok. __I'll __let __you __know __as __soon __as __I __hear __or __see __anything.__"_

Tom then tells Mike and David, who has joined in on the conversation "Nadia's going to scout Sloane and fill us in when he sends retaliation." Mike says "How the hell are we going to stop them when they come?" Tom replies "Park the Mustang so that it blocks the entrance. Leave enough room on both sides so a man can get around it. Keep your vests on and keep some guns ready at the warehouse doors, ready to go. We have to get to them before they get to the convertible. Nadia scouting Sloane will allow us to get the drop on them when they start coming through the bottleneck. While we're wiring this thing up for fireworks, we have to be ready at a second's notice."

Mike rolls his eyes and says "Great, I get to deal with explosives under duress..." David says "This stuff is stable. You'll be fine. But Tom's right, we need to get going on this now. I got a quick look at the facility just now. I'll place a couple of bricks at the artifacts, then the majority of the C4 will be placed on the support beams. It's an open-air facility, and there's no pillars or supports in the warehouse area, so they only need to go on the outsides of the building. We've got plenty to do the job." Tom pats David on the shoulder and says "Good work. Let's get started. Show us how it's done, David. You're the explosives expert here."

The three then walk in to the warehouse to start wiring everything.

* * *

><p>A couple hours later, Tom, Mike, and David are busy wiring C-4 to the building. The sun is just a couple hours away from setting.<p>

The Project Nadia members have made solid progress wiring the building to blow. David is in the middle, surrounded by artifacts and rigging a cell phone to act as the detonator. Mike is in the back-left of the building, setting up C-4 on the support beams. Tom, meanwhile, is along the right side of the building, setting up C-4 on the support beams there. Wires and C-4 are now all over the place, including amongst the Rambaldi artifacts and manuscripts in their glass display cases.

As Tom keeps wiring, he asks David "Hey, I know this is a dumb question at this stage of the game, but have you ever used this method to blow up a building before?" David shakes his head as he connects some wires and says "No, but I know it works." Mike stops what he's doing and asks "You mean, you have never done this before, David?"

David defensively replies "Well, no! But, I know it will work! This is the best way I can think of to let us blow this thing remotely...well, besides an old fashioned long fuse...but, this will work!" As Mike looks at David concerned, Tom reassuringly says "Mike, if there's one guy that I know amongst us three that I trust to blow up a building, it's David. Now, let's get back to wiring, we're almost done and we need to get this thing set to blow soon!"

However, as Tom turns to go back to wiring, he hears Nadia say _"There's a truck coming your way!"_ Tom quickly asks "When is it going to be here?" Nadia frantically replies _"It's just down the street! It's a humvee filled with Sloane's mercenaries! I'm sorry I'm just now getting back to you, Sloane dispatched them remotely! They were waiting nearby!"_

Tom tells a curious Mike and David "We have incoming! Gear up!" Mike and David start running towards the entrance with Tom. Tom grabs one of three AK-47's set up near the garage door entrance. Mike grabs a gun and asks "What's the plan?" Tom replies "You two perch up behind the convertible!" David, as he grabs a gun himself, asks "What are you going to do?"

Tom just cracks an evil smirk and says "Remember Tienanmen Square?"

Mike and David look at Tom funny, not getting the reference. Before any of them can say anything, Nadia says _"It's about to turn onto the entrance to the warehouse!"_ Tom yells "It's here! Go!" Tom, Mike, and David take off on a dead sprint out of the warehouse.

Mike and David stop and take their spots behind the convertible...

...but Tom instead runs past them and runs around the front side of the convertible.

Mike frantically asks "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" As he sprints down the entranceway, Tom just yells "TIENANMEN SQUAAAARE!" Mike confoundedly says "Tienanmen Square?"

Mike wonders why Tom would say that. After all, the Tienanmen Square incident centered around one man standing up against a tank...

Mike's eyes then bulge out of his head as he realizes what Tom's doing. "Oh my God..."

Mike looks up from the convertible and sees Tom continuing to sprint towards the humvee that is now approaching. David looks up and, seeing Tom run towards the humvee, asks "Does he have a death wish?" Mike looks down and says "It sure would explain a lot about how he's been acting..."

Meanwhile, Tom continues to dead sprint down the entrance, not the least bit afraid over the humvee that's bearing down on him.

In the humvee, the driver and his passenger look on at Tom curiously. The passenger gets on the walkie and says "Arvin, we're approaching the warehouse. But there's a man running down the driveway! He was ready for us!" Sloane asks "Who's running at you?" The man replies "He's...blonde..."

The man stops talking when Tom slides to a stop in the middle of the road and points the AK-47 at the driver. He starts firing at the windows. The passenger ducks as the driver gets pelted with AK-47 rounds.

The passenger then looks over and sees the driver is now dead and the humvee is now veering to the left. He drops his walkie out of the window and grabs the steering wheel in a frantic attempt to control the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Tom runs to the passenger's side of the humvee and starts shooting at the tires. The front and rear passenger's tires are shot and quickly deflate.

As Tom runs by the humvee, he sees it's uncontrollably rocking as the passenger tries to control a humvee that is now without a driver nor half of it's tires. The driver's foot remains on the gas pedal, which is floored to the ground.

The humvee, now incapable of being controlled, starts veering towards the right side of the road. The rocking causes it to fall in it's side.

Tom watches the humvee slide and start to fall down the valley. However, it suddenly stops when it hits a tree. It's back-end is still about road-level.

Tom quickly runs towards the back of the humvee and sees various mercenaries trying to get back to their feet. Tom cracks a diabolical smile as he unhooks a grenade from his belt loop, pulls out the pin, and tosses the grenade into the back of the humvee, where the men are still inside trying to get their bearings.

Tom starts running away and, two seconds later, the back of the humvee explodes. The concussion of the blast causes Tom to fall face-first to the ground.

Mike and David, meanwhile, look on in total shock from behind the convertible. They can't believe Tom Falk just destroyed a humvee all by himself.

After the ringing from the blast stops in his ears, Tom starts laughing maniacally as he gets up to his feet and surveys the damage. He walks over towards the humvee almost in a drunken stagger as he laughs his head off, proud of his accomplishment.

Finally, in between laughs, he asks "Hey babe, is everyone dead in there?" A troubled Nadia says _"__Tom, __look __at __the __back __of __the __humvee! __It's __still __on __fire! __What __do __you __think?__"_

Tom lets out a couple chuckles and looks back at Mike and David. He shouts "ALL CLEAR!" Mike and David stand up to their feet and start walking towards the humvee to survey the damage for themselves.

Tom, meanwhile, spots something on the ground in the far right corner of his eye. He turns and spots a walkie-talkie...the walkie-talkie that the passenger dropped when Tom started firing at the humvee.

Tom, still laughing on and off like a crazy person, jogs over and picks up the walkie-talkie. He sees the talk button is stuck down, meaning whoever is on the other end probably heard everything. He clicks off the talk button and immediately hears Sloane asking "Would someone tell me what just happened?"

Tom clicks the talk button and starts laughing evilly. He's literally drunk off of the adrenaline that's flowing through him right now.

After a few seconds of laughing, he yells "Is that the best you can do, Arvin! They're ALL dead and I'm still alive! SO GAME OVER! PLEASE PLAY AGAIN, BITCH!"

Meanwhile, Mike and David turn from surveying the humvee damage and look at Tom with troubled looks as he talks to Sloane. They wonder if Tom has completely lost his mind.

Tom doesn't hear Sloane say anything and starts chuckling again. Tom stops after a bit and says "What's the matter, Arvin? Where's the sharp comeback? Where's the condescending words? Or are you starting to realize that you really, really screwed up when you murdered Nadia? Is the fear starting to sink in for you yet...the fear that the countdown has started towards your death? That your life has come down to not days and weeks, but just hours and minutes?" Sloane coolly replies "I've never been afraid of you and I'm still not afraid."

Tom replies "Bullshit, Arvin! You knew about what I did in Mexico! You KNEW the man I was capable of being! That's why it scared you shitless when I started dating your daughter! You couldn't control me...you NEVER could control me! You were right in your letter to me after you murdered Nadia! We ARE evil men at heart, Arvin! You tried to justify murdering my wife and unborn child because you thought that I had somehow purged that part of my soul from me." Sloane replies "You had to in order for Nadia to accept you."

Tom chuckles a bit and says "But you're wrong! While I became a loving husband, I still had this...disease inside me, waiting for you to bring it back to life! And even though we're evil men at heart, our brands of evil are very different! The only person you love is Arvin Sloane, and everything you do is to feed your own interests. Me? I do what I do because I learned early in life to take care of the people that take care of you. And guess what? My brand of evil is winning!"

Tom then starts laughing maniacally again. In between laughs, he says "Arvin, you might be pursuing immortality...but you will NEVER know the euphoria that is flowing through my body right now! It's the euphoria you only get when you no longer have any concern over your own life! See, when I talked to Rambaldi a couple days ago..." Sloane cuts him off. "How did you talk to..."

Tom's smile erases and he shouts "I'M TALKING HERE, SHUT THE HELL UP!" The line goes silent, and Tom continues. "As I was saying, when I talked to Rambaldi a couple days ago, he told me that humans are capable of incredible things when they're motivated by love. What you are seeing is the ultimate prophecy in action! That's right...Rambaldi sent me to ERASE his prophecy off the face of this earth because he knew my love for Nadia would drive me to this! Love...Conquers...All! And when I say erase his prophecy, that includes erasing you, you sanctimonious son of a bitch!"

Sloane then says "Not if I stop you first. You say I erred in judgment when I underestimated you...well, you underestimate me. After all...you can't kill what is immortal, Tom." Tom smirks and says "Oh, I just knew you were going to try to screw over Irina somehow. And the only reason I'm not bumrushing your office now is because I know you have Prophet Five in your pocket...now that the Alliance is dead. You still would rather have others do your dirty work, so I'm just biding my time until I can even up the odds. But in time...me and you will face off with each other. And I will kill you...even if it's the last thing I do."

Tom's angry look is then erased when he suddenly forms a smile on his face. "I have something that I think you want to see. I picked it up..." He's interrupted when Mike says "There's someone alive!"

Tom looks over surprised and jogs over to where Mike and David are standing. He sees the passenger from the vehicle has crawled out and is starting to crawl up the hill towards the road. He looks very bloody and in great pain as he strains to crawl up the hill. Tom cracks an evil smirk and says "Seems like the co-pilot in this little attack of yours is still alive. So, in addition to my little Halloween surprise I have for you...I also have a hostage. When I'm ready...I'll drop them off for you. The only thing I request...is that you open what's in my box...and you look out the north window of your building at precisely 8 PM local time. I will let you know when and where I'm dropping off these...gifts. It will be soon."

Sloane then says "Tom, you..." Tom then says "Sloane, I have nothing else to say to you...except this: When injustice becomes reality, rebellion becomes duty. And in the end, when all the wicked are dead...Project Nadia prevails."

Tom then clicks off the walkie-talkie and turns down the volume. If Sloane is trying to say something, he's not interested in hearing about it.

Before Mike and David can say anything, Tom grabs his AK-47 and starts walking down the hill. He gets to the injured humvee passenger. The man, struggling to speak, says "Please...don't kill..." Tom shakes his head and says "Nah..."

Tom then cracks the man in the face with the butt end of his assault rifle, forcing him to go unconscious. He then bends over, drapes the man over his shoulder, and starts walking back up the hill with a content look on his face.

When Tom gets back to the top of the hill, Mike steps in front of him and furiously says "What the hell are you doing?" Tom perplexedly asks "What? I got the drop on the humvee and I took it out before it could unload on us! What's the problem?"

Mike shakes his head and says "You've lost your damn mind is what the problem is. I heard what you said to Sloane just now." Tom quickly replies "That's what I want them to think...that I've lost my mind! Perception is nine-tenths of the rule, Mike."

Tom starts to walk away, but Mike puts a hand on his chest to stop him. "No, this is no act. You've turned into a psychopath since Edmund's interrogation yesterday. And apparently, based on this little display of yours just now...you have a death wish. Enough lies, enough secrets...what the hell is going on with you? I want to know...now."

Tom looks at Mike offended and says "I'm doing what I have to do to avenge my wife and rid the world of this prophecy. If Sloane or even Irina becomes immortal, then I will have failed. And like I told you in the van yesterday...I have to be that evil man I once was in my life. In the end...when all the dust has settled...what is more evil? One evil person having the world at his mercy or another evil person stopping at nothing to stop him?"

David then says "You still haven't addressed why you want to die so much. Only a man wanting to die would bumrush a humvee filled with mercs." Tom looks at David funny and says "Would you have rather faced off with these people after they left the humvee, David?" David insistently says "That was not my question..." Tom snaps "Well that's the answer you're going to get!"

Tom then decides it's time to tell a white lie. "Look, Rambaldi has guaranteed me that I will succeed in this mission, so it was a risk I was willing to take. There is no other way for me to do this, David."

A despondent David says "I look at your face and I see Tom. But I hear you and...I don't know who you are anymore." He then starts walking back to the warehouse, hanging his head. Tom looks on with a despondent look of his own.

Mike then tersely says "I'm with him. I don't know you anymore, either." Tom looks at Mike angrily and says "You know what? I don't care anymore! If you want out...just go! That goes for you too, David! I'll get vengeance myself! Rambaldi tasked ME to this mission, not you two!"

Tom then storms off towards the warehouse, carrying his hostage over his shoulder and storming by David without looking at him. David had stopped and had a hurt look on his face over what Tom just said.

Mike looks at Tom as he walks away with a look of repulsion on his face. Then, he says "Nadia, if you're still here...you're lucky I like you, otherwise I would be walking away from this. Talk to your husband...maybe he'll listen to you. Apparently he won't listen to me or David anymore."

Since she can't talk to Mike, all Nadia can do is try to reassuringly pat him on the back. Mike feels it and realizes it's coming from her. He then takes a deep sigh and starts walking back to the warehouse somewhat despondent. "Come on, David. Let's finish what we started."

* * *

><p>The sun has set and it's now about 6:30 in the evening. The warehouse is now wired to blow...and blow up big.<p>

Mike and David have left the warehouse to go get some dinner. Tom, meanwhile, has stayed behind. He's sitting with his back to the wall, writing on a piece of paper on his lap.

Tom's scowl from his argument with Mike earlier has not left his face as he angrily writes away. As he writes, he hears Nadia say _"Tom, we need to talk." _Tom just continues writing and ignores her.

Suddenly, Tom's pen is ripped out of his hand and angrily slammed on the computer desk next to him. Tom looks up from his paper and folds his arms. A now-aggravated Nadia says _"Don't ignore me! What is going on with you?" _Tom looks to his right, where Nadia would be, and flatly replies "I'm winning this war, that's what's going on."

Nadia replies _"At the expense of everything you are and everyone you know?" _Tom slams his hand on the ground and says "Perceptions, Nadia! Perceptions! The man I'm trying to hunt down is a man who is a master at manipulation! I CAN'T let him have control! I have to take the fight to him! That's why I'm doing all of this the way I'm doing it!"

Nadia sighs and says _"But you're alienating the closest friends you have...including me." _Tom shakes his head and worriedly says "Nadia, please don't say that..."

Nadia cuts him off. _"I'm serious, Tom. Is this the way you want to go out? Would you burn your bridges with everyone you love just to get satisfaction for yourself?"_ Tom replies "If it means avenging you and protecting the world from an immortal greed-monger, then I guess this is the way it's gotta be."

Nadia insistently says _"No it doesn't! Search your heart...remember your father." _Tom laughs and says "Yeah, I remember him. I've never forgotten how he abandoned me..."

Nadia cuts him off. _"He abandoned everyone...and there was almost no one at his funeral. His lasting impression was that of a man who was consumed with his own selfish satisfaction. How many times have you vowed to me that you never wanted to have your father's fate? And think about the man you're pursuing. Sloane's going to leave a similar impression. So ask yourself...is this what you really want?"_ Tom hangs his head...Nadia's words having a major effect on him. In a somewhat somber tone, he says "How else can I do this, Nadia, without being a total bastard?"

Nadia replies _"There's ways you can still do this without alienating the people that care about you. You can start by being honest to me, to Mike, to David...and most importantly, to yourself. We all just want to know what's going on, to not feel shut out, and to be a part of this mission! And that starts by telling Mike and David about The Tonic...and what it's going to do to you. All they want to know is why you're doing what you're doing."_ Tom wonderingly asks "If I tell Mike and David about me dying after I drink that stuff, they won't want to be a part of..."

Tom doesn't complete the sentence. He knows how that sentence ends. He's worried about alienating Mike and David by telling them it's a suicide mission he's in...while alienating them in the process with his lack of honesty over his downright suicidal action with the humvee today. The almost deranged confidence he had earlier in the day is now a distant memory. Remorse has taken over.

Tom then buries his head in his hands. "Nadia, what have I done?" Tom feels Nadia's hand rubbing his back. _"Tom, you can't let your vendetta with Sloane consume you. It's killing me seeing how wound tight you are, and the effect it's having on Mike and David! I know you want to succeed here, and I'm still rooting for you. You ARE the best chance at killing my father and I sincerely hope you do, if not just for my own selfish reasons. But you can't forget the man you are, and you can't abandon your friends. You have to be honest to them, and by doing that, you'll be honest with yourself."_

Tom then lifts his head up and, still looking despondent, says "Nadia, I still have to do some pretty rotten things before it's all said and done. I still have to kill Sloane, there's still a building that needs to be blown up..." Nadia says _"You're missing my point, Tom. I know you've set a precedent with Sloane and you need to keep that up. Don't change what you've been doing. But, what I'm talking about is changing your attitude to the people that care about you. What you're doing seems like madness to Sloane...but it also seems like madness to us, and I know that wasn't your intention. But by shutting all of us out of your plans and feelings, that's the image you're projecting to us."_

Tom stares forward blankly and says "Nadia...do you want to know why my mind has been so hell-bent on destruction and death? Do you want to know why I dared Kelly Peyton to kill me yesterday, and why I went one on one with a truck full of armed mercs? Do you really?" Nadia replies _"Yes, I do."_

Tom takes a deep breath and says "Acting like I've been doing makes me forget that you and our daughter are dead." Tom then sheds some tears and takes some deep breaths to try to compose himself. As he does, he feels Nadia's hand reach across his back and start to rub his left shoulder to try to comfort him.

When he's ready to talk again, he says "And I know you're going to say that you're still by my side and all that, but it's just not the same, Nadia. It's just not! I miss you...I miss your face, your smile...I miss everything about you! And if I die...then I get to be with you again. That's why I took the risk I did yesterday, daring Kelly to kill me. And that's why I took the risk I took today, facing down a truck. I took those risks because, if I die, then I still win." Nadia says _"You're wrong, because Sloane still gets to live. And if you willingly throw yourself in front of a bullet or a truck just so you can be with me...then what has this been all for? All you'll have is a path of destruction behind you with no validation for it! I know what you did for Matt Aguero tore you to pieces for a long time, and it still ate you up up until a few months ago. Think about how eternity is going to feel with that regret, knowing you not only are responsible for the death of many, but that you failed to stop Sloane from becoming immortal."_

Tom then sharply says "I'm still going to be responsible for so much death and destruction when this is over, after I kill Sloane...and I'll admit, I didn't think about how it would weigh on me when I get to Elysium." Nadia calmly replies _"Yes you did. You knew you'd have to do what you've been doing when you went into this mission. Maybe not the whole thing with Kelly Peyton's head, but everything else you knew was possible. And remember why you're doing this. For me, for Sydney, for Isabelle, and for anyone else that would feel safer knowing that immortality won't be in the hands of Sloane. And yes, we both share the same selfish desire to see him die for what he did to me. But that's ok! He deserves what's coming to him, and then some! But you have to keep going! And you have to be honest to your friends! They're laying their lives on the line for this, too. They're in this together with you. Be the man you've always been to them...and be the man I fell in love with!"_

Tom cracks a small smile and looks right, where Nadia would be. "You're right. I've never betrayed Mike and David's confidence...not intentionally anyway. I should be honest with them. Just...let me do what I have to do tonight. And when we're back at the safehouse, I'll come clean. I promise." Nadia then playfully says _"If you don't...remember what I did to Director Chase the other day at APO?"_

Tom laughs and says "Yes, I remember! That'd be an awfully painful way to die..." Nadia laughs and says _"And just imagine what I'll do to you when you get here if you aren't honest! Eternity is a long time to be put in a chokehold!"_

Tom laughs a bit, then says "Can I have my pen back, please?" Nadia asks _"What are you writing?" _Tom replies "Just something for Sloane to read. Remember what I was saying about perceptions? I've gotta keep up my offensive on his psyche." Nadia says nothing, but Tom eventually sees his pen being held out in front of him.

Tom grabs the pen, then asks "Anything on Maria yet?" Nadia replies _"No. Laurent is still looking."_ Tom nods as he starts writing again. Despairingly, he says "I wonder what's taking him so long. Maybe she didn't make it." Nadia replies _"I really don't know what's going on there, I've been busy helping you and Sydney. If I find something out, I'll tell you. Just keep your eye on what you have to do. I still believe in you. I can't wait for you to be here, but I can't wait for you to finish what you started, either!"_

Tom smiles as he keeps writing and says "Thanks for believing in me. After all my faults, including today, you're still sticking with me. You stuck with me after prison, you stuck with me..."

Suddenly, Tom's head is pulled up and he feels the force of a kiss on his lips. Then, he hears Nadia say _"I still love you, handsome. And I'll always believe in you, because you always believed in me."_ Tom smiles and says "Thank you. And I love you too, beautiful. I can't wait to see you again...after I've done what I need to do."

Nadia reassuringly rubs his back as he confidently goes back to writing his letter.

* * *

><p>A little later, Mike drives the cargo van down the road in downtown Brussels. David is in the passenger's seat while Tom remains crouched over his hostage from the assault from earlier. We see the hostage is still alive, but remains unconscious.<p>

The hostage is tied up, with the box that Tom took away from the Alliance murders last night tied up in the bungee cords. The hostage has his arms tied up in an X, and is holding two AK-47's in his hands...much like how Kelly Peyton held the MAC-10's in her crossed arms last night.

As Mike keeps driving, Tom says "Guys, after we're done tonight, we need to talk about my actions today." Mike says nothing, as he is wearing a scowl on his face...still upset with Tom. David looks at him, then looks back at Tom and plainly says "Ok."

Tom then says "Look, I'm not proud of keeping you guys out of the loop..." Mike frustratedly says "This isn't like you, Tom. There has to be a good reason why you're going all Rambo on us. I just want to know what the hell is going on. Is that too much to ask?"

Tom hangs his head. "No, it's not. And there is a good reason I've been acting like I've been...well, so I thought anyway. It's something I should have told you before the mission, and I'm sorry I didn't. But let's talk about this after we're done with our business tonight. There's still things that need to be done and I need to stay sharp." Mike nods and says "That's fine." David nods himself, but says nothing.

Tom then says "We went over what we're going to do here beforehand. Does ANYONE have a problem with what I'm going to have to do when I talk to Sloane?" David shakes his head no. Mike shrugs and says "No, it's probably the right move. We have to keep ourselves protected." Tom turns right and says "Nadia, what about you?" Nadia says "_I'm with Mike. I'm not a big fan of the theatrics, but I know you want to send a message to Sloane. At this point, it'd be consistent with what you've started with him."_

Tom nods and says "Ok, Nadia's fine with it. Are we there yet?" David chuckles a bit at that last question. "My son Davie has started to ask me that on long trips." Tom, seeing an opportunity to bring some levity back with his friends, asks "What, are you calling me a child?" David, with a smile, shakes his head and says "Children can't do drive-by's and take out humvees by themselves!" Mike, meanwhile, seems more focused on the road and doesn't say anything. He does manage a small smirk, though.

Finally, Mike pulls into an alleyway and stops a couple buildings down, underneath a very tall building. Tom opens up the cargo van side door and says "Ok, I'm going to wake our hostage up. Drag him out and hold him up. I'll make contact with asshole...I mean Sloane."

Mike and David get out of their seats as Tom gives the hostage a HARD slap to the face. "WAKE UP!" The hostage jolts awake, then asks "Where am I?" Tom doesn't answer as he gets out of the van. Mike and David grab the man and drag him out and hoist him up outside the van.

Tom reaches into his pocket and pulls out the walkie-talkie he grabbed earlier. He looks up, turns up the volume on the walkie and hits the talk button. "Sloane, I'm looking up at your back balcony now. Come out now."

Tom then puts his binoculars and looks up at the balcony, which is about 50 floors up. Eventually, he sees Sloane walk out and lean over the railing. Through his walkie, Sloane says "Do you have my man?"

Tom replies "Yeah, I do. Can't you see him?" Sloane, with a sneer, says "Ok, you listen to me. I'm willing to negotiate..."

Tom shakes his head as he lowers his binoculars, walks behind the hostage and says through the walkie "Hey, we talked earlier! You get your guy back and in exchange, you open up my present for you and look out your north window at 8 PM. That's the deal! The only thing is...I never said anything about the nature of how you're getting your guy back." Sloane concernedly asks "Did you hurt him?"

Tom reaches to the back of his jeans and pulls out his silver Desert Eagle .50. And then, very nonchalantly, he points the gun at the back of the hostage's head...and shoots him. Mike and David let the man drop to the ground in a lifeless heap, landing on his front side, with Tom's box under him.

Tom looks back up in his binoculars and sees Sloane has a very angry look on his face. Then, Tom gets back on his walkie and, with a smirk, says "He was doing just fine until now. He's dead now because he knew too much about us...about what we have planned. He was a victim of his own knowledge. But..." Tom kicks the man over to his back, with the box sitting up. "...there's still a present for you to open. So, send some of your hired guns down here and come claim your present."

Tom then tosses the walkie away and says "Let's go, guys." Tom hops into the cargo van while Mike and David quickly run in themselves. They would then drive away quickly.

In the back of the van, Tom says "Alright, straight to the Mustang. Do we have a good viewing spot for the fireworks show?" Mike says "Yeah, I saw a place on the way in. Should give us a good view."

Tom pats Mike on the shoulder and says "Good to hear you talking again, friend." Mike just takes a deep sigh, but doesn't say anything.

After some driving around, they get to the Ford Mustang, which is parked in another back alley. The three get out of their cargo van, grab the duffel bags of weapons, and then get into the Mustang and drive off, leaving the cargo van abandoned.

Tom, from the backseat, turns back and says "I didn't see anyone following us. I think we're in the clear." David says "I was watching, too. We're good." Mike then says "Ok, we have 15 minutes until the show begins. David...I really hope this works." David rolls his eyes and says "It will! I know what I'm doing!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omnifam Building<strong>_

A man walks into Sloane's large Omnifam office. It's a very modern-looking office and looks just about what it looked like in Season 3 of Alias. Sloane is seated at his desk, which is in the northwest part of the office.

He looks up and sees the man is holding a box. Sloane asks "Did you find Tom?" The man shakes his head. "We found the van, but it was abandoned. He must have switched vehicles. It was his vehicle, we found his prescription of Vicodin. But, we have no idea where he could have gone. Here is the box he left."

The man sets the box on Sloane's desk. "There's also something else." Sloane looks at the box, which is brown and has the words "FOR SLOANE'S EYES ONLY" written in black marker on the top. Then, he looks up and asks "What is it?"

The man says "Henrik's arms were crossed in an X, and he was holding two AK-47's. Wasn't Kelly Peyton..." Sloane cuts him off and says "Yes, which tells me that this is Tom's trademark of some sort. This also tells me that he was indeed responsible for Peyton's death yesterday."

Sloane then grabs a gold letter opener and goes to open the box. He then looks back up and sees the man is still standing there. "Is there anything else?" The man nods and says "Irina Derevko is here." Sloane casually nods and says "Good, send her in."

The man nods and walks out. Sloane then cuts open up the top of the box, where it's taped up. He rips open the flaps and goes to look in the box, but is interrupted by the sound of high-heels walking into the office.

Sloane looks up and sees a smiling and very elegant Irina Derevko walk in to the office, holding a soft leather satchel bag. Irina says "Hello, Arvin." Sloane smirks and says "Good to see you, Irina. Do you have the Amulet?"

Irina nods as she sets down the bag and says "Yes, I have it with me in this bag, we should be ready for Mongolia tomorrow. What do you have there?" Sloane sighs and looks down at the box. "I've been dealing with a bit of a nuisance, and this is something he wants me to see apparently." Irina folds her arms and says "Nuisance? What's going on?"

Sloane ignores her as he looks in and sees a black trash bag inside. He digs open the trash bag, reaches in...and forms a look of confusion when he feels what's inside. He slowly pulls out the contents of the bag with both hands. And then he forms a look of repulsion when he sees what he's holding...

Kelly Peyton's severed head.

He drops the head out of shock. It bounces off the side of the table and falls to the ground and rolls over to the right. Irina gasps when she sees the head and looks shocked. "Oh my...is that Kelly?" Sloane looks at the head in shock, and then walks over to it when he sees something over Kelly's mouth.

He bends over and sees a note taped over her mouth, with the words "READ ME" written on the outside. Sloane rips off the note and starts to read it's handwritten contents:

_Arvin,_

_By now, you have seen Kelly Peyton's head. I claim 100% responsibility for that. I claim responsibility for the rather interesting pose she was in when I left the rest of her outside the Alliance office, too._

_And yes, I claim responsibility for the death of the Alliance of Twelve. Just like you said about Nadia getting in the way of your quest for Rambaldi's endgame, Kelly got in the way of Project Nadia and my quest to bury Rambaldi's prophecy. Oh the things women make us do..._

_After Nadia died, I asked myself why I would even consider enduring on earth anymore. I couldn't find a good reason. But, it was when I was a millisecond from blowing my own brains out on my couch that I found my direction again._

_I underwent the treatment to reveal Rambaldi's Ultimate Prophecy document. Turns out, all I needed was some of that wonderful Rambaldi Fluid that you decided to inject my wife with years back in Japan that the DSR confiscated. Thankfully, after my CIA credentials were re-instated, I was able to get the fluid transferred from the DSR before you sent your goons to raid the facility._

_Oh, and yes, you read that right. I was accepted back into the CIA. Don't act surprised...after all, APO came about after convincing them that your methods were best. And I convinced them that MY methods were best to put an end to you and the Rambaldi prophecy..._

_...a prophecy that, as I would learn while I was recreating my document, Rambaldi himself wants gone from earth. Milo was sitting in the afterlife, just waiting for you to screw up and kill Nadia. He knew it would trigger my vengeance into action. He realized that greedy bastards like you would pursue his prophecy, and he saw the error of his ways. With love as a weapon, Rambaldi knew that I would seek vengeance. He's given me the tools to get that vengeance. One tool is in the process of being procured from a remote corner of this earth as we speak. That is the only reason why I haven't butchered you yet._

_The other tool...is your daughter Nadia._

_I know where you are every second of the day because of Nadia. There is nothing you can do that I don't know about. That's because Nadia's been following you. You can't see her, you can't touch her, you can't talk to her, and you sure as hell can't get rid of her. But, she's always there, and she's more than happy to report to me what's going on with you. Her spirit is yet another reason why you dramatically screwed up when you threw her through a glass table and killed her and my baby girl._

_By the time you get this, I will have claimed responsibility for the death of around two-dozen people already. Like I told you earlier today, I have spread through the Rambaldi world like an incurable disease. And the disease will not go away until you lie in a pool of your own blood. _

_The only question at this point is...when? Could be tonight. Could be tomorrow morning at breakfast. Might be during dinner. Could absolutely be at any time of the day or night! But make no mistake, when I get to you...I will take my time with you. I will enjoy what I do to you. In the end, I WAS right at the hospital the day Nadia was revived. We do reap what we sow...and we both will know how that feels in the end._

_Project Nadia prevails...when I'm back in the loving arms of my wife, and holding my baby girl in the afterlife. But that's only after I complete my vengeance, and I butcher you like a stuck pig._

_And when that happens...well, to borrow a line from your letter to me..._

_I hope it hurts._

_Halcon Diablo_

_P.S. Remember, look out your north window at 8 PM sharp. Look to the northwest. You'll see why._

Sloane looks up and sees his desk clock reads 7:57 PM. He's got a general look of disbelief on his face as he digests the letter.

Meanwhile, Irina was looking at Kelly's head. She stands up and asks "Who's behind this?" Sloane looks at her blankly and says "Our son-in-law."

Irina's jaw drops a bit. "Tom Falk? How? I thought he had changed..." Sloane, almost in a trance, replies "He's back in the CIA. And he's calling himself something else nowadays...here, maybe you can make some sense of of this."

Sloane hands Irina the letter Tom wrote. As she starts to read it, Sloane wanders to the back window, which faces north. He's pondering just how much of a threat Tom really is to his life.

If Tom can annihilate the Alliance, behead Kelly Peyton, and take over his warehouse of artifacts...he's definitely a threat. Especially with the specter of Nadia always around him now, or so he thinks. If only he had a way to protect himself...

Arvin walks over to a small lamp table and opens the top drawer as Irina scans the letter.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in Brussels<strong>_

Tom, Mike, and David are on top of a parking garage looking out to the northwest, beyond the ridge. Tom, sitting on the back of the Mustang, takes a deep breath and says "Almost time for fireworks. Nice night, huh?" Mike, sitting on the hood, says "Yeah, it's not bad." David, who's still seated in the front passenger's seat, says "We should get a good view of the explosion from here. I'd hate to not see my work in action."

Tom asks "You have the cell phone?" David pulls out a flip phone and hands it to Tom. "It's the only number programmed in there. It's a pre-pay, so we'll destroy it on the way out."

Tom flips open the phone and sees it says 7:57. As he notices the time, all of the sudden a car pulls up from the ramp behind them. Tom hears it and immediately jumps out of the car. "We've got company!"

Tom pulls out his Desert Eagle while Mike and David pull out their handguns and point them at the incoming car.

Finally, Nadia says _"__It's __ok, __it's __Sydney.__"_ Tom lowers his gun quickly and turns to Mike and David. "Nadia says it's Sydney. Lower your guns."

The car parks next to the Mustang and, indeed, Sydney Bristow steps out of the car.

Tom smiles wide and says "Well, if it isn't the queen of the Scottish Highlands herself! Welcome to Brussels, you're just in time for fireworks!" Sydney doesn't look nearly as amused as Tom does, and Tom's smile quickly erases.

Sydney angrily says "Nice display of killing outside of Omnifam just now. Very classy." Tom asks "How did you know we were there...or here?"

Sydney replies "I was tracking Irina...she had just arrived not a minute before you did. Nadia told me to find you guys here. Speaking of her, she tells me you've been acting unbalanced since yesterday, and seeing you in action just now...I see what she's talking about. What is going on with you?" Tom blankly replies "We all agreed, including Nadia, that person I killed had to die. He had vital information on us. He knew what our getaway convertible looked like and he knew that we had Sloane's warehouse wired to explode. There was no way in hell we were letting him back in Sloane's good graces."

Sydney folds her arms and says "So, you tie him up and shoot him in the back of the head?" Tom shrugs and says "Nadia wasn't much for the theatrics either, but I wanted to show Sloane that I meant business."

Sydney confusedly says "Killing The Alliance and taking his warehouse wasn't enough?" Before Tom can respond, Mike responds "Tell us what was in the box, Tom." Tom looks at Mike irritatedly. "That's between me and Sloane."

Mike coldly replies "It's worth Sloane knowing, but not your friends. Interesting." Nadia then says _"__Tom, __just __tell __them. __Withholding __information __is __just __going __to __drive __the __wedge __further __between __you __and __them.__" _Tom hangs his head and sighs.

He then remorsefully says "The head of Kelly Peyton was in that box." Sydney's eyes bulge out of her head. Mike and David have equally shocked reactions. Tom looks up and says "She was dead before I beheaded her. But, I realize now...that might have been a little extreme..."

Mike shrieks "A LITTLE?" Tom looks at Mike and says "Mike, I've been too obsessed in not only getting revenge, but also sending a message that I'm not weak...that I mean business. Sloane thought I wouldn't be a threat if he killed Nadia, so I had to prove to him that I'm his worst nightmare. So, I went back down a path I vowed never to go back down with Peyton. I became that man I was when I avenged Matt Aguero. And I had every intention of delivering that head to Sloane to send a message."

Sydney then shakes her head and says "Well, I certainly would say that message has been sent. And speaking of messages...I'm here because I have The Tonic." Tom then says "Good. And everyone...when we're done here, I'll clear the air over what's been going on with me back at the safehouse. You're welcome to stay with us, Syd. I'll sleep on the couch."

Before Sydney can respond further, an alarm goes off on Tom's wristwatch. He sees his digital watch says 7:59:45. Tom looks up from the watch and says "Alright, it's showtime."

Tom flips open the phone and dials the pre-loaded number. After he hits the green talk button, the phone shows it's connecting. Tom looks up and tells Sydney "Look to the northwest." Sydney turns and looks to the northwest with Mike and David.

After a few seconds, the phone still shows it's connecting. Tom looks up at David and says "Cell reception was ok at the warehouse, wasn't it?" Before David can respond, Tom is interrupted by the cell phone beeping that it's connected...then disconnected...

_BOOM!_

Tom, Mike, David, and Sydney look over the ridge to the northwest and see a large orange ball of flame billow up into the sky, along with the ground rumbling a bit from the force of the blast.

Even though he's starting to grow a conscience again...Tom can't help but crack a satisfied smirk. Rambaldi's prophecy has just been wiped off the map. Now...all that's left on his list is Sloane.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omnifam building<strong>_

The rumble from the blast even shakes Sloane's office a little bit. Sloane looks up from the small table near the window and sees the large orange ball of flame shoot up in the sky off in the distance.

Irina turns back from reading the letter and sees the flame shoot up in the sky. In surprise, she asks "What was that?" Sloane, still looking out the window despondently, replies "That...was Rambaldi's artifacts being blown up. The artifacts, the manuscripts...everything. It's all gone now. You can thank our son-in-law for that, too. He took the warehouse so he could blow it all up."

Irina asks Sloane "What have you done, Arvin? Why is Tom doing all this to you?" Sloane looks back at her blankly and says "Keep reading."

Irina turns and goes back to reading the letter. Meanwhile, Sloane grabs something out of that top drawer.

Irina keeps reading, then stops when Tom mentions Nadia's death. She forms a look of concern on her face and, still looking at the letter, she concernedly asks "Arvin, did you kill our daughter?"

Sloane answers by jabbing a needle into Irina's neck and cupping her mouth closed. As he injects her with the syringe's contents, Sloane whispers in Irina's ear "Don't feel bad. Your other daughter fell for this in Siena a little over a year ago."

Irina tries to fight back for a second, but eventually passes out from whatever was injected to her. Sloane just lets Irina drop to the floor in a heap.

Sloane leaves Kelly's head, the letter, and Irina next to the desk and walks over to the chair Irina set her leather satchel on. He opens up the bag and pulls out The Amulet.

Sloane cracks a wide smile. "Sorry Tom, but it looks like Project Nadia will NOT be prevailing. You can't kill what is immortal."

Sloane then walks over and picks up a phone and dials a quick-dial number. When the line picks up, Sloane quickly says "I need a flight to Mongolia...now."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Safehouse in Brussels<strong>_

Tom, Sydney, Mike, and David sit at the kitchen table in their shabby safehouse. There's all sorts of cracks on the walls, half the lights don't work, and the place has a bit of a moldy smell to it. No self-respecting human would live here. After all...that's why they picked this place.

Tom leans back in his chair and rubs his eyes a bit, now looking very tired. Now struggling for energy, he says "Ok, we need to discuss what I've..." Mike holds up his hand and concernedly says "Tom, you've been up since you arrived in Zurich yesterday. You didn't sleep on the way to Brussels last night. You look like you're about to pass out." Tom shakes his head and says "No, you need to know..."

David then says "It's been a long day for all of us. I think we all can use the rest to clear our heads. Maybe what you'll have to say will make better sense when we're all rested." Tom lets out a loud yawn and says "If that's what you guys want..." Mike then reassuringly says "I think we'll all be more objective when we've had some rest. I didn't sleep much last night. Sydney, I'm guessing you didn't get much rest, either." Sydney nods and says "Yeah, it's been hard to sleep with what's going on."

Tom nods and says "Well, with The Tonic in place, we can go after Sloane tomorrow. After we clear the air amongst us, we'll discuss how..."

"_Hey, we have a problem."_

Tom and Sydney pop their head up at the same time, not expecting that. Mike and David look at them inquisitively, realizing they must have received some sort of communication from the afterlife.

Tom concernedly asks "Nadia, what is it?" Nadia lets out a very despondent sigh and says _"Sloane has betrayed Irina. As Irina was reading your letter, Tom, he snuck up behind her and injected her with something that knocked her unconscious. He grabbed The Amulet and is now on his way to Mongolia to get The Horizon."_

Sydney stands up and says "We need to get to Mongolia..." Nadia says _"It's too late. Sloane's plane left a while ago and he knows exactly where it is. It's too late. He'll get it before your plane even lands."_ Tom looks at Mike and David and disappointingly relays "Nadia says Sloane is en route to get the Horizon. It's too late to stop him, now. He's going to be immortal."

Tom then gets up and starts pacing around, feeling defeated. "That son of a bitch is going to have his cake at Nadia's expense and eat it too. DAMMIT!" Tom then punches a hole through the wall next to him, then leans his head up against said wall with a look of defeat. Nadia then says _"Tom, it's not over yet."_

Tom curiously asks "What do you mean it's not over, Nadia? He's going to be immortal! How the hell am I going to stop him now?" Nadia replies _"Mary has a plan. She told me to tell you all to wait for further instruction, she's working out the details."_ Sydney sighs deeply and says "Can that woman ever just come right out and say what's going on? I don't trust her."

Tom turns and looks at Sydney angrily and says "That's my mother you're talking about!" Sydney flashes him an angry look back and says "I know, Tom! But there is SOMETHING going on with her and my mother, don't you see it?"

Tom shakes his head and says "That deal of theirs expired, and according to Nadia, my mother fed Irina breadcrumbs on The Horizon. She knows the value of information and I've come to realize that she's a very calculated woman. And if she says she's working on a plan, I have to hold out hope for that. What other options do we have, Sydney? Nadia can't stop Sloane in Mongolia because she won't be in my presence! And last time I checked, teleportation hasn't been invented yet! And yes, while my mother has been annoyingly secretive at times, she has NEVER gone against my best interests, even if it's not apparent why she does what she does. I trust her, and I say we wait for what she has to say."

Sydney sighs and looks down at the ground. Mike, meanwhile, nods his head and says "I agree with Tom. This is the only option we have. And because we won't hear anything at this very moment, I vote that we get that sleep that all of us need." David nods affirmatively and says "I agree with Mike. Let's sleep on it and hope that Tom or Sydney hears something."

Tom says "I'll admit, now that the adrenaline from today's events has worn off, I could really use the sleep myself. That couch doesn't look that bad." David shakes his head and says "I've slept on worse. Me and Mike will take the twin beds in the guest room, Sydney can have the main bedroom. Is that alright with you, Sydney?" Sydney nods and says "That's fine. Nadia, don't hesitate to wake us up the moment Mary has anything." Nadia says _"__Of __course.__"_

Mike and David get up from their chairs and say "Good night" at the same time, then head off to the guest bedroom down the hallway to the left.

Tom walks over and sits down on the couch. Sydney walks over next to the couch and says "Let me know if you hear anything. My guess is Mary will talk to you first." Tom lies down and lies the back of his head on a throw pillow. "Sorry for snapping at you over my mother. I think a big reason why I've been so unhinged is because of a severe shortage of REM sleep. Ever since Nadia died, I might have gotten eight hours of sleep the past four days. And I do agree with you that my mother can be frustrating." Tom then cracks a smile and says "But hey, you would know all about frustrating mothers, wouldn't you?"

Sydney laughs a bit, then says "No wonder our mothers like to work together!" Tom laughs at that and looks happy that levity has returned between them. Sydney then says "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning. Good night, Nadia."Nadia says _"__Good __night, __Syd.__"_ Sydney then walks away towards the master bedroom.

Tom turns off a lamp that's above his head. As he does, Nadia asks _"Need me to sing to you to sleep like last time?"_ Tom smirks and shakes his head. "No. I don't think I'll have any trouble falling asleep tonight. Besides...soon, I'll have plenty of time to hear your lovely voice."

Nadia lets out a flattered giggle, then says _"Your grandmother Violet used to be in a church choir growing up. She likes that I've picked up my appreciation for singing again!"_ Tom smiles and says "Yeah, she always would hum and sing lightly when she thought she was alone in the house." Nadia giggles again and says _"She still does! She's teaching me some songs she knows! When this is over, we're going to try to get your mother to sing."_

Tom smiles wide and says "So, I take it my family is treating you ok?" Nadia laughs and says _"They've practically rolled out the red carpet for me! Everyone has been so wonderful...including your father. I'll admit, he's not what I expected._" Tom's smile erases and he takes a deep sigh. "They must have Alcoholics Anonymous in Elysium, too."

Nadia intently says _"Tom, it's not like that. He says he's changed, now that he's been given another chance in Elysium to be a good man. I believe him. Give him a chance, that's all he asks."_ Tom reluctantly nods and says "I'll try. Anyway, I'm going to sleep. I love you, beautiful."

Tom feels Nadia give him a kiss on his left cheek and then hears her say _"I love you, handsome. Good night."_ Tom then closes his eyes and lies on his right side.

A few seconds later, Tom feels a blanket get draped on him, and then adjusted so that it covers most of his body. Tom smiles, knowing it must have been Nadia that did that just now.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omnifam building, early morning<strong>_

Irina Derevko opens her eyes for the first time since she asked Sloane if he killed Nadia. She starts looking around at her surroundings, recollecting where she is. It's still night outside, and Sloane's desk clock says it's 4:47 AM.

She's still in Sloane's office. She looks around and sees Tom's letter on the ground...then Kelly Peyton's severed head. She immediately remembers that she was betrayed by Sloane.

Irina gets up to her feet and holds her head, which feels like it has a massive migraine. She opens her eyes back up and sees her leather bag is open. She quickly runs over to the bag and starts digging in it...and realizes The Amulet is gone. She tosses the bag down in a huff.

"_Irina, it's Mary. We need to talk."_

Irina, now seething in anger, says "What do you want? Where's Sloane?" Mary Falk replies _"__Sloane __is __in __Mongolia. __He __just __got __The __Horizon. __He's __now __immortal.__"_

Irina closes her eyes and her face uncharacteristically starts shaking out of anger. Sloane got the best of her and has obtained the thing she has sought for much of her life.

Mary calmly asks _"__Do __you __still __want __The __Horizon?__"_ Irina opens her eyes and says "How is that possible? Sloane has possession of it!"

Mary then says _"__Rambaldi __purposely __left __out __one __fact __about __The __Horizon __that __you __can __exploit. __There's __a __way __you __can __still __take __it __from __him.__"_ Irina takes a deep breath to calm herself down, then asks "Please, tell me what do I need to do?"

Mary replies _"__You __have __to __help __my __son...again.__"_

**END OF CHAPTER**

* * *

><p><em>(Note: The next chapter will be the last of this story.)<em>


	44. Ch 43: Phase Three: The Okie Doke

**PHASE THREE: THE OKIE-DOKE**

* * *

><p><em><strong>WARNING: <strong>This chapter puts all the other chapters I've written to shame with it's length. This will take a long, long time to finish reading, so you might want to plan on coming back to this if you're pressed for time. Oh, and reader discretion is advised!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Brussels, Belgium<strong>_

He could hardly contain his excitement.

The sun has yet to rise on this Halloween day in Belgium. The safehouse that Tom Falk is in is still very dark this morning. Mike Walcott, David Marston, and Sydney Bristow remain asleep as well.

As he sleeps on the couch in the safehouse, he's lying on his left side with a big grin over his face. His lips are moving a bit...a sign that he's dreaming...

* * *

><p><em><strong>San Felipe...?<strong>_

"MOMMY! DADDY! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

4 year old Maria Falk, looking like she did in Tom's past dreams, excitedly jumps up and down at the end of Tom and Nadia Falk's bed. She's still in her jammies and has her long black hair in a ponytail.

Nadia and Tom, both lying to the left and right respectively, lift their sleepy heads up and watch a too-energetic-for-the-morning Maria jumping up and down. A very sleepy Nadia says "We're up, sweetie!"

A giddy Maria runs up the bed between Tom and Nadia and jumps down between them, shouting "WHEEE!" as she jumps and crashes on the bed. She then gets on her knees and starts shaking Tom, who's eyes are barely open from being tired. She looks at his face as she shakes away at her father and yells "Wake up, sleepyhead! They're going to be here!"

Tom groggily asks "Who's going to be here, Maria?" Maria stops shaking her father and happily exclaims "Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Eddie!" Nadia then says "They were going to come over to fish on the new boat this afternoon, Tom."

Tom nods, then rolls over and looks at the clock. He sees it's only 5:30 in the morning and the sun hasn't even risen yet. The only light comes from a hall light that Maria apparently turned on.

Tom rolls back over and says to Maria "It's only 5:30, munchkin! They won't be here for a while!" Maria pleadingly says "But daddy, they're coming! Get up!" Maria then starts shaking Tom again. Tom, trying not to be too irritated at his daughter's antics this morning, says "Ok Maria! I'm awake! You don't have to shake me anymore!" Maria just keeps shaking him and has a steady giggle while doing it. She looks like she's having fun tormenting her father.

Nadia then wraps her arms around Maria and pulls her in close, causing her to shriek out of surprise. In a firm, but calm voice, Nadia tells Maria "What did your daddy say? No shaking!" Maria groans a bit and says "I'm sorry, daddy." Tom reassuringly says "It's ok, Maria. Daddy's awake now."

Tom then leans in and gives Maria a kiss on the forehead, followed by Nadia giving her a kiss on the cheek. Maria giggles, happy to be the center of attention with her parents. She appears to be a very happy and loved child...a major difference from the childhood her parents had. Neither Tom nor Nadia had their parents in their lives, and that made them very angry growing up. Maria seems to be having the exact opposite childhood as they did.

Nadia then happily says "Hey Maria, go get dressed and show mommy and daddy what you're going to wear out on the boat today!" Maria excitedly says "Ok!" Maria then scoots out from being in between Tom and Nadia and gets out of the bed at their feet. She then runs off down the hallway.

Tom looks back at Nadia and gives her a tender kiss on the lips. He then stares into her brown eyes for a few seconds and says "It's good to see you again, beautiful." Nadia laughs at that and says "Oh come on, you act like you haven't seen me in days!" Even though Nadia's technically right, Tom still feels happy to see her in any way, shape, or form.

Tom then looks down and, after thinking about where he could be at the moment, says "I guess we're in Elysium. We must be a few years..." Nadia then starts shaking Tom and frantically says "Tom, wake up!"

Tom looks at her funny as she's shaking him and asks "What did we just get done doing with Maria?" Nadia unflinchingly yells "TOM, WAKE UP! TOM!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Back in Brussels...<strong>_

"_TOM, WAKE UP!"_

Tom opens his eyes and discovers he's being shaken like he was in his dream. Tom doesn't see anyone standing over him, though. But, unlike a normal person who would freak out at this realization, Tom realizes who it must have shaken him and asks "Nadia?"

Nadia replies _"Yes, it's me. I'm here with your mother."_ Mary Falk then says _"Tom, you need to get up and do exactly as I say."_ Tom sits up and asks "Is Sydney..."

Tom feels a hand go over his mouth. Nadia then says _"No! Let her sleep!"_ Tom, now confused, muffles out "Why? What's going on?" Mary intently replies _"I'll explain everything later, get up!"_

Tom moves his head away and, with Nadia's hand apparently off his mouth, says "Mom, enough head games. What in the hell is going on?" Mary replies _"Do you want to kill Sloane or not?"_ Tom replies "Well, yeah..." Mary then says _"Then you have to do as I say. Now, get up and walk out of the apartment. Let everyone else sleep, you can wake them when we're done."_

Tom flings his blanket off of him and sits at the edge of the couch for a bit. He doesn't get up right away as he wipes some sleep out of his eyes and tries to get his bearings. He never woke up all night...a sign that he really needed the rest after the bloody, violent, and sleepless days he just experienced in his Project Nadia conquest.

All of the sudden, Tom's right hand is grabbed and he can feel it being pulled up. As this is going on, Nadia says _"Tom, we have to go! Come on!" _Tom rolls his eyes over the prodding his mother and wife are doing to him and gets up to his feet. He then sarcastically asks "Can I put my shoes on? Do I have your permission, ladies?" Mary and Nadia both say _"Yes!"_

Tom slips on his shoes, which were lying next to the couch, and walks out of the apartment.

When he gets out into the barely-lit, unwelcoming and dank hallway of their questionable safehouse, Tom hears Mary say _"Walk to the left. You'll go in the third door on your right."_ Tom worriedly asks "What's waiting for me in there?" Nadia then says _"Tom, just go please. I promise nothing bad's going to happen to you." _Tom sighs as he walks down the hallway.

He gets to the third door on the right and cautiously grabs the door handle. He takes a deep breath and opens it.

He walks in to the apartment and sees it's laid out very similar to the one he's currently using as a safehouse. It opens into a living room, with the dining room set off to the back, the kitchen to the right, and the bedrooms to the left. And it's just as run-down and uninspiring as his safehouse.

Mary then says _"Sit down." _Tom walks over to a rather dingy couch off to the right and sits down on it. He then folds his hands at his lap and impatiently asks "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on now?"

"Absolutely."

The woman's voice is deep, elegant and almost sultry. As Tom turns his head right, where the voice came from, he hears the sound of high heels walking on the wood floor from the bedroom area. And then, someone that he was not expecting appears.

Irina Derevko is in the apartment, wearing the same clothes she was in last night.

Tom looks spooked as he quickly rises to his feet and shouts "OH HELL NO!" Tom then turns to walk out, but feels a pair of hands blocking him from the door. "Nadia, let me go!" Nadia shouts _"Hear her out! She's the only hope you have in killing my father! She wants to help you!"_

Irina then coolly says "You should listen to your wife, Tom." Tom turns to Irina and sees her standing there casually, with her arms folded. Tom then turns back to the door and asks "Mom, what the hell is this? What are you doing?" Mary replies _"I'll let Irina explain. Sit down, she's unarmed, and she would only meet you if you were unarmed, too. I wouldn't have you two meet if I wasn't trying to help you."_

Tom lets out a deep, defeated sigh and turns around and faces Irina again. As he walks back to the couch, he sternly says "I tasked Sydney to hunt you down, and she's with me just down the hallway. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't wake her up right here and now?" Irina, in her usual calm demeanor, replies "Because you have a problem and I'm here to solve it."

Tom cautiously sits down and leans back on the couch. With a sarcastic look on his face, he says "I heard Sloane gave you the good ol' okie-doke last night!" Irina, as she sits in a chair across from Tom, deadpans "He knocked me out while I was reading the letter you gave to him...the letter you had attached to Kelly Peyton's head."

Tom cracks a smirk at the mention of Kelly's severed head. But, before he can say anything, Irina irritatedly says "You should probably wipe that smirk off your face. That show you put on last night gave Sloane the opportunity to betray me. And now, your mother informs me that he just obtained The Horizon about an hour ago." Tom then angrily replies "Well, if my mother were more upfront about what she does behind the scenes, then maybe Sydney would have trusted her and gotten me The Tonic earlier and I could have taken care of Sloane before he did all that! Instead, Sydney decided to track you yesterday instead of giving me The Tonic right away!"

Mary, now uncharacteristically defensive, shouts _"Hey, don't blame this on me or Sydney! Cutting off Kelly Peyton's head was completely unnecessary and you know it! And Irina is right, your theatrics last night gave Sloane the opening he was just praying would come around!"_ Irina then says "And now, you're really stuck, aren't you? Sloane's immortal, and even if you drink The Tonic and face him down, you can't do anything to him, and you'll just die...while Nadia's killer gets to live on eternally." Tom forms a scowl on his face and says "What else did my mother tell you?"

Irina then smirks and says "Mary, I'll let you take this part." Mary then says _"Tom, Rambaldi left out one important detail about The Horizon. There's still a way you can kill Sloane."_

Tom agitatedly asks "So what, does this thing make him a vampire? Do I need to have Sydney go to another remote corner of the world and fetch me some holy water and a cross?" As Irina chuckles a bit at that, Mary yells _"Tom, shut up and listen to me! Your father goes off on these tangents too and I don't like it when he does it, either!" _Tom forms an offended look, but doesn't say anything. He's speechless over being compared to his father. He realizes that Mary must have known comparing Tom to his father, who he's hated all his life, would shut him up.

Mary then says _"Immortality lies within one, singular item. The Horizon is a sphere...a sphere that can be possessed by any man or woman. But, Rambaldi made possession of The Horizon something that can be lost. He who gains immortality can lose it if someone else were to take possession of The Horizon and hold on to it for at least 10 seconds. After the 10 seconds have passed, immortality is transferred to the new person, and the one who held it before becomes mortal again."_

Tom digests that information a bit, then forms an incredulous look on his face. He realizes something about Mary and Irina, but decides to withhold it for now since Irina was still there. He realizes that this must have been Mary's plan all along...to help Irina.

Tom then looks at Irina and says "So, we've established that The Horizon can be transferred to another person. The question is...how are we going to get it in your hands?" Irina says "I'll sneak into the Omnifam building. I'll accompany you to Sloane's office, and while you go face-to-face with Sloane and distract him, I'll enter the office, take the Horizon and escape. That'll leave Sloane at your mercy."

Tom chuckles a bit and shakes his head. "So, I get to tell Sydney that I'm leaving her on her own with an immortal person to chase. Yeah, that's fair." Nadia then says _"Tom, my mother can't hear this, only you can. Your mom has a plan for Irina. Everything will work out, I promise."_

As Tom internally fumes at his mother's lack of forwardness, Irina then says "Tom, you know in your heart that there is no other way to defeat Sloane, and I know you want nothing more than to end his life for what he did to Nadia. Your mother also knew you'd be apprehensive about using my help and keeping this part of the plan a secret. That's why I'm willing to offer you something in exchange for keeping me a secret. Consider it a deposit on my future cooperation." Tom looks at Irina incredulously and says "Sounds like my mother filled you in on everything...including the fact that I'm going to be a dead man after I encounter Sloane. What could you possibly have to offer a man with a death wish?"

Irina replies "I can offer you someone that has been a big player in the chase for Rambaldi's prophecy. Someone who was not on your hit list...but someone that would not only qualify for that list, but someone who I know you'll get a pleasure out of killing." Tom quickly asks "And just who would that be?"

Irina replies "Julian Sark."

Tom's eyes perk up at the mention of that name. Irina smirks and says "I thought that would get your interest." Tom smirks back and says "The more things change...the more they stay the same. You're willing to sell out Sark yet again. Only this time...I get to finish the job. And you're right...I'd be more than happy to kill that yuppie bastard for taking a year from my life." Irina, still smirking, says "I thought you would."

Tom then folds his arms and asks "I thought Sark was still a semi-vegetable living in some hospice?" Irina replies "No, I got him out of that a month ago. He's been helping me, but he's outlived his usefulness. He's limited to a wheelchair nowadays because he has difficulty with motor functions. So there's only so many ways I can use him anymore. If you keep quiet about my involvement, I'll let you put him out of his misery...and get some revenge for him taking a year away from your life."

Tom thinks for a bit, then says "When are you going to serve him up to me?" Irina replies "He'll be at Omnifam with me. We'll rendezvous in the empty office on Floor 47, and that's when you can kill him. We'll proceed to Sloane's office from there. Make sure you're alone...well, Nadia can tag along of course. She's agreed to keep my presence quiet." Tom then asks "That's all fine and dandy, but how are you going to make your presence there undetected...not just from Sloane, but from Sydney as well?" Irina just cracks a confident smirk and says "I have my ways."

Tom then understandingly nods, knowing full well that Irina is an expert at staying covert. Then he leans forward and says "So let's run this down again. You feed me Sark, I keep quiet about you. Then, at Omnifam, I distract Sloane, you bail with the Horizon, and I get to kill Sloane before I rejoin my wife and family. But that still leaves Sydney. I tasked you to her, and I can't stop her from trying to stop you. She's still going to be looking for you...and knowing now how to disable your immortality..." Irina holds up her hand and says "She might be my daughter...but I'm still her mother. I can handle her." Mary then says _"Tom, Irina can't hear me now. I have a plan for this. I'll tell you when she leaves. Accept her offer, and I'll explain how it's going to be sorted out in the end."_

Tom nods, which Irina interprets to be a nod that he's acknowledging her last comment. Tom, realizing it'd be a good idea to play along with his mother in gaining Irina's trust, then says "This is quite the tangled web we're weaving here. But you're right...this is the only way I can see this being done. And you have helped me out before. Even though you did send Sark on me before...my time in prison did keep me whole until Nadia returned. And you did do me a major solid when you gave me the permission to marry Nadia. So in light of that...I accept your offer."

Tom gets up and extends his hand for a handshake. Irina stands up herself and shakes it at first, then, with a wide grin on her face, says "Come on, I'm your mother-in-law!"

Irina then gives Tom a hug...a hug that Tom feels a little iffy about returning. Eventually, Tom returns the hug with an extremely unsure look on his face, but realizing he needs to keep up appearances.

When they release, Irina says "Oh, and I'm just going to warn you in advance: Sloane still has twenty Prophet Five soldiers at his disposal. I don't know how he's going to use them, but I suspect there'll be an ambush waiting for you." Tom smirks and says "I'm sure your daughter Nadia will give me a heads up. After I chug The Tonic, it won't matter. I can handle them."

Irina nods and says "That was my first thought as well. I just thought you'd appreciate the heads-up. By the way, after talking to you just now, you're not that crazy after all." Tom smirks wider and says "I'm just not fully awake yet! But, I can say that I'm still crazy about your daughter Nadia." Nadia laughs and says _"__And __I'm __still __crazy __about __you!__"_

Irina smiles wide and says "Good luck, Tom. I hope you succeed, if not just for Nadia's sake. Take care, Mary. And Nadia...I'm so sorry about what happened to you. I hope Sloane pays, too. I love you, Nadia." After a brief pause, Nadia unconvincingly replies _"__I __love __you, __too.__"_

Tom raises an eyebrow at that last exchange, then says "Welcome to Project Nadia, Irina." Irina just smirks, then walks out of the apartment and disappears down the hallway to the right.

Tom closes the door and, as he holds his head like he's got a headache, says "Ok, my head is freaking swimming here! What is going on with you and Irina, Mom? Was this why you wanted me to delegate Irina to Sydney?" Mary says _"Tom, sit down. I'll explain everything." _Tom quickly takes his seat at the couch and says "I'm waiting."

Mary then says _"Tom, in my dealings with Irina, I've come to realize that she's an extremely cunning and confident woman. But, her one weakness is over-confidence. You heard her yourself: she doesn't think Sydney is going to be a threat...kind of like how Sloane thought you weren't going to be a threat. And like Sloane...she couldn't have been more wrong."_

Tom then asks "But, I can tell you right now, Sydney's going to want nothing to do with The Horizon. She's going to have to take it off of Irina's hands..." Mary cuts him off. _"No she won't. I didn't tell Irina of another weakness The Horizon has. It's also something Rambaldi didn't mention in any of his documents. Sydney won't have to handle the Horizon at all." _Tom raises an eyebrow at that and asks "How is Irina going to be stopped?"

Mary replies _"Rambaldi made another genetic change to the Derevko line. He previously informed me that Sydney and Nadia couldn't be immortal if they handle The Horizon because their bodies would reject immortality, thanks to that genetic change. When Rambaldi informed me of this...I asked if this applied to Irina as well. He told me yes, she too cannot wield the power of The Horizon."_ Tom forms a surprised look and asks "Why would he do that? That doesn't make sense."

Mary says _"It was Rambaldi's intent to have The Chosen One be the person to nullify The Horizon. When she holds on to it for more than 10 seconds, the power is transferred to her, but it has no effect as long as she's holding The Horizon. But, in order for Sydney to have that power, she had to get the genetic modification passed down to her. Therefore, Irina, by virtue of being her mother, has that power as well. That's why I followed Irina all this time. I knew she desired The Horizon, but I also knew that she has no idea that she cannot wield it. I wanted to use that to our advantage."_

Tom looks rather impressed at his mother's planning now. He affirmatively nods and says "So, what's the plan? How are we handling Irina after she gets The Horizon?" Mary says _"I'm working out the details. A lot depends on what happens with you, her, and Sloane. When the time comes, I'll guide Sydney. Just focus on Sloane."_

Tom then asks "I have to admit, Mom...they way you jumped me over Kelly's head just now and with all you've done with her in the past...I thought you and Irina became best friends forever." Mary replies _"Good heavens, no! I would never take sides against my son or my daughter-in-law! Yelling at you for Kelly's head was just for appearances...I have to make Irina think we see eye-to-eye. But I've been playing Irina this whole time. Having her send you to prison in order to protect you started the process of getting her in my good graces so I can exploit her later if I needed to. I always knew the ultimate prophecy was a possibility, but I assure you, I never wanted it to happen. I wanted to be ready just in case, though. But Tom, I did mean it when I said the thing with Kelly's head wasn't necessary...but I understand you wanted to send a message to Sloane...in your own unique way."_

Tom then disappointedly says "Well, Kelly's head helped Sloane get the upper hand..." Mary replies _"Tom, Sloane was going to betray Irina last night anyway, regardless of your antics or not. He had a syringe ready to go and was just waiting for the right moment. He would have done it anyway, and you'd still be in this spot."_

Tom then asks "Why keep the big secret about Irina from us, then?" Mary replies _"Because I didn't want you to lose focus from what you had to do. Sloane was so far along in his quest, I knew you wouldn't have time to accomplish everything and get to Sloane before he made his move. So, instead of telling you he's going to be immortal, I let Nadia guide you and let you do your thing while I tracked Irina and waited for Sloane to make his move."_

Tom understandingly nods, then asks "Nadia, what do you think?" Nadia replies _"Think about what?"_ Tom replies "My mom playing Irina like a fiddle. Irina's your mother..." Nadia cuts him off. _"I don't care. I'm with Mary and I'm with you. Irina must be stopped...just like Sloane should be stopped. She still plans on going ahead with Sloane's plan to destroy two major cities and profit on their reconstruction."_

Tom nods, then says "So...you don't love Irina." Nadia replies _"No, I don't love her. I lied. Irina was never a mother to me. Irina never fought for me. Irina never dropped by to offer advice when I needed it. Irina never offered her shoulder for me to cry on. Irina never loved me enough to be there for me at all! But Mary did all that for me...before and after I knew she even existed. So I meant it when I said Mary is the mother I never had!"_

Mary, sounding touched by what Nadia said, replies _"And that right there made everything I did for you in my life worth it, Nadia. I know I've said it so many times already, but you truly are an angel!" _Nadia, in both a playful and loving voice, replies _"Thanks...Mom!"_

Tom chuckles a bit at Nadia calling Mary 'Mom'. Then, he playfully says "You know, Mom, Nadia tells me that she and Grandma Violet are plotting to have you start singing. I just thought I should give you a heads-up...be prepared for an ambush." Mary laughs and says _"Yeah, they THINK they want to hear me sing!"_ Nadia then jovially says _"We all have to start somewhere! We've got all the time in the world to train you!"_ Mary sighs and says _"Yeah, yeah..."_

Tom then looks over at the door and says "Well, I guess I should break the news to everyone. When are we going to Omnifam?" Nadia replies _"My father is flying back to Brussels today. His flight arrives in the afternoon at 4, so we should plan on being at Omnifam at about 5, that way he can't leave. Irina is aware of this, she'll be ready."_

Tom affirmatively nods and says "Ok. Are you two going to help me out when I break the news to our companions?" Mary says _"I have to go keep an eye on Irina and make sure she remains cooperative. Nadia will stay beside you."_ Nadia then says _"Thanks for all your help, Mary." _Mary says _"Thanks for being you!"_

As Nadia laughs, Tom then says "Hey, that's my line!" Mary laughs a bit and says _"Well, it's a good line...and I meant every word of it! Anyway, you should get going. I'll see you soon. Good luck, Tom. I love you."_ Tom smiles and says "I love you, Mom. And you know I love you, Nadia, so I don't need to say it." Nadia giggles and says _"I'm not going anywhere! But, you're welcome and I love you, too!"_

Tom then exits the apartment to head back to the safehouse apartment they're inhabiting.

* * *

><p>Tom walks back into the safehouse apartment and sees Sydney, Mike, and David amassed in the living room getting ready to go somewhere. The three of them look very surprised when they see him walk back in.<p>

Mike concernedly asks "Where the hell did you go? We thought you were abducted!" Tom smirks and says "You think I'd let anyone abduct me without a fight that would wake the three of you up? Relax, I just talked to my mother." Sydney raises her eyebrows. "What did she have to say?"

Tom then looks towards the kitchen. "This place come with a coffee pot?" David shakes his head. "No...but, there's a coffee place around the corner. I can make a coffee run..." Mike says "Vanilla latte." Sydney says "I'll take mine black with sugar." Tom then says "Just black coffee for me."

David nods and says "Ok, I'll be right back!" David then walks out of the safehouse. Tom tells Sydney and Mike "Let's give all of us some time to wake up before I tell you the plan. We're not going to be able to attack until the afternoon anyway."

Mike then says "So, your mother did have a plan." Tom nods and says "Yeah, she did. It ties in to what I was already going to tell you about this morning. Let's take care of everything when David gets back. In the meantime, the shower work here?" Sydney says "Yeah, but it takes a while for the water to get warm." Tom smirks and says "Guess I better get started, then!"

Tom then walks by Sydney and Mike to go warm up the shower.

* * *

><p>A little while later, everyone is gathered around the table. At the back-middle of the table is Mike, then David on the right side, a cleaned-off Tom in the front-middle, and Sydney on the left side. All four have their coffee from the coffee shop. We see in the window behind Mike that the sun has started to come out a bit.<p>

Tom takes a deep breath and says "Before I get started on the plan...I've been keeping a very important piece of information away from Mike and David. It explains why I've been acting the way I have the past couple days." Mike, looking like he's a little guilty, says "Tom, I think all of us were a little wired from a lack of sleep. I think we all over-reacted..."

Tom cuts him off. "No, that's no excuse. I've been acting like an animal without any explanation." David insistently says "Sloane killed your wife! I get it! If it were my wife..." Tom holds up his hand and says "Let's not go there, because that's not going to happen. But listen, it's not fair to you two for me to withhold information...especially the information that I've been holding back."

Tom then turns to Sydney and says "Thanks for getting The Tonic, by the way...even though you know what it's going to do to me." Sydney meekly nods, then David asks "What's it going to do to you?"

Tom turns to David with a remorseful look, then looks down at the table, afraid of saying what he's going to say. "Well, you two know that it's going to give me immortality for 20 minutes. But, what you don't know is what it's going to do to me after that 20 minutes is up."

Tom then closes his eyes, takes a deep sigh, and then looks up and opens his eyes and looks at Mike. "After that 20 minutes is over...so am I. It's going to kill me."

Mike's mouth goes agape a bit, surprised at that bit of news. David has a similar surprised look. In a down voice, Sydney says "I knew this when Tom revealed the ultimate prophecy document. It stated that he'd drink The Tonic, destroy the prophecy and it's followers, get revenge on Nadia's killer, and then The Tonic would make his heart explode." Tom then flatly says "I came back from death twice up to this point, but there's no going back when your heart explodes."

Mike hangs his head and closes his eyes tightly, looking both angry and hurt. "So, you knew you were going to die when this all started?" Tom nods and says "Yes, I did." David, looking like he's in a state of shock, shakes his head and says "Why didn't you tell us?"

Tom looks at David and says "Because how do you tell your friends...friends that would go through the gates of hell with you...that you're going to willingly die in order to accomplish a mission? People have been thrown into an insane asylum for less." As a now-saddened David digests that, Mike says "That still doesn't answer the question. You were willing to die yesterday, before this mission reached it's conclusion. Why?"

Tom thinks about what Mike asked for a bit. Then, when he's sorted out his reasons, he turns to Mike and says "Because I'd be back in the loving arms of my wife quicker, and I wouldn't have had to tell you this. While some might interpret what I did with the humvee as being overly courageous...upon retrospect, it was rather selfish. Plus, I felt invincible and I was completely possessed with this god-complex that I've had these past couple days. It was a risk I was willing to take. But don't forget that we were dramatically outnumbered and that humvee had to be disabled before the infantry unloaded out of it!" David says "We could have helped! You could have had us position ourselves to each side..."

Tom holds up his hand and says "I know, I know. I erred in judgment. Like I said, I felt like nothing could stop me...but at the same time, I wanted to put that theory to the test for my own selfish reasons. So, I apologize for keeping you two out of the loop." Mike nods and says "Apology accepted." David also says "I understand. It's ok." David then hangs his head. "I just wish there was a different way...I don't want you to die for this..."

Tom pats David on the shoulder and says "David, I wish a lot of things would have happened differently in my life. At least I'll be doing some good before I go." Mike then purposefully says "You don't have to drink this thing! We'll find out a way to make sure you live when you're done with this!"

Tom slinks in his seat and shakes his head. With sadness all over his face, he says "Mike...I've thought about what my future is going to be like if I lived through this. And quite frank..."

Tom then closes his eyes and lets out a loud "AAAAAHHHHHH!" He stands up and clutches his left arm in severe pain. Sydney, Mike, and David quickly stand up and look alarmed at this display from Tom.

Tom walks over and leans his head on the nearest wall he can find while the shooting pains down his left arm continue. He's grimacing and growling in pain. Tom hasn't had any bouts of pain in his dying left arm the past couple of days, so this comes completely out of nowhere for him.

Sydney concernedly says "I thought you were on pain medication!" Tom, still in great pain, yells "I lost my Vicodin yesterday! I must have lost it in the cargo van when we left it!"

Finally, after a few more seconds, the pain starts to subside. Tom, now breathing heavily from his bout with pain, starts moving his fingers around to relieve the numbness in his hand. He lifts his head up and takes a few relieved, deep breaths, happy that the pain is over.

Mike concernedly asks "Tom, what's going on? What was that about?" Sydney looks at Mike and says "He didn't tell you about his arm, either?" As Mike shakes his head, David says "No...what's going on with it?"

Tom turns and, as he starts walking back to his chair, says "While I was undergoing Rambaldi fluid treatment to reveal the ultimate prophecy, I got to talk to Rambaldi in the afterlife. I technically died, but I was allowed to return to my body when I was done, good as new. Anyway, my left arm has been bothering me since a few days before the wedding a few months ago. Rambaldi tells me that the bones in my left arm are slowly decaying, and that I'd likely lose the arm sometime in the future. It's a complication that arose from Project Alloy. And there's a possibility I'd lose my legs, too, although Rambaldi wasn't too sure about that."

As everyone else takes their seats, Mike then says "What else did Rambaldi have to say?" Tom chuckles as he sits down and says "That guy was so long-winded, it'd take all day to explain what he all told me. But the important thing is that I was tasked to destroy his prophecy before rejoining my wife and family in the afterlife...aka Elysium." A somber David sighs and says "It's just not fair..."

Tom looks at David and says "No, not fair would be continuing to live and not completing what I set out to do. Like I was going to say before my arm pain just now, I've given a lot of thought about what my life would be like. For one, it'd be impossible for me to move on with another woman. I'll have one arm, maybe no legs, and I'll have to keep secrets from the one I love again. I'm not doing that again. Secrets destroyed my marriage with Kate. And at this point, keeping my secrets hidden means hiding just about everything that makes me who I am. That's what I loved about my relationship with Nadia...nothing was taboo between us. And quite frankly, I don't think I can love anyone else besides Nadia. But, the condition that Project Alloy will have left me in, along with my grief over not having Nadia or my baby girl in my life, would make me unbearable to be around. I'd be a sad, broken down piece of garbage. I'd be that friend that you still let hang around you even though he's become a total pile of nothing."

As Mike and David continue to look despondent over what Tom is saying, Tom then smiles and says "But instead of that, I have a chance to do something wonderful for the world by ending this prophecy. By sacrificing myself to kill Sloane and end this prophecy, I have a chance to get vengeance for Nadia. By preventing Sloane or Irina from becoming immortal and having the world by the balls, I have a chance to let Sydney go be a mother to Isabelle, to let Vaughn and Jack live in peace..." Tom then turns to David, who looks back at him with a somber look. "...to give you, Lisa, Davie, and Susan a chance to live in peace. And Mike..." Tom turns to Mike, who still stares at the table in a state of disbelief. "...I'm going to give you, my sister Karen, my nephew Danny, and your newborn a chance to move on and live in peace yourselves. And not just in peace...but everyone here will be compensated well for helping me bring down this prophecy. I've written everything in my will, it's at my apartment. When I'm gone, I'm going to take care of my friends...because you three have taken care of me as long as I've known you. This is my gift to you...and ending the prophecy is my gift to the world. And I'll be going to a better place when I'm done. When your times on earth are done, each of you and everyone you love will be able to join me in Elysium. It's a wonderful place, and that is Rambaldi's gift to me and to all of us for having to go through all the pain his prophecy has caused us. When I'm gone...don't cry for me. Everyone benefits from what I'm doing here, including me."

Mike and David, both hanging their heads, continue to stare at the kitchen table, both still digesting what all Tom has said just now. Sydney then turns to Mike and says "Hey, what was this about a newborn? Is Karen pregnant?" Mike looks over at Sydney and, still somber, says "Yeah, me and Karen are having a child. She's six weeks pregnant."

David breaks his somber look as he turns to Mike surprised and says "You never told me this!" Mike looks at David and says "I just found out two days ago and I've been a little too busy to break the news. I would have told you eventually." David cracks a smile and says "Congratulations!" Sydney smiles wide and says "Yeah, congratulations!"

Finally, Mike cracks a smile and says "Thanks. I hope it's a boy, but it's way too early for that." Tom chuckles and says "Well, when you go to my apartment, grab Nadia's copy of 'What To Expect When You're Expecting'. It's written mostly for women, and I know Karen went through a pregnancy already, so she knows what she's doing, but it has a lot of helpful stuff for you." Mike smiles at Tom and says "Thanks, I appreciate it." Tom nods and says "No problem. I know you're going to do great while Karen's pregnant. My mother likes you, and she believes in you, too."

Sydney then looks over at Tom and says "Ok, so what did Mary have to say? What's the plan?" Tom laughs and says "I almost forgot about that!" Before he can say anything else, Nadia says _"Sydney, before Tom explains everything, don't get angry at Tom or Mary."_ Sydney asks "Why would I get angry at them?" Nadia replies _"Because we're going to need our mother's help in order to succeed."_

Sydney's eyes bug out of her head. "WHAT?" Sydney then glares at Tom. "Did you see Irina earlier?" Nadia whispers in Tom's ear _"Tell her you didn't."_ Tom, not skipping a beat, says "No, I didn't. It was just Mary and Nadia. We went to another apartment and chatted privately."

An aggravated Sydney looks down and "I just knew Mary was in league with my mother!" Tom holds up his hand and says "No she isn't. Just like Sloane did to her last night, Mom's going to give Irina the okie-doke as well. Everything ends tonight."

Sydney raises an eyebrow and, now intrigued, asks "How?" Tom replies "Some time ago, Rambaldi told my mom that you and Nadia have the ability to nullify The Horizon. If either one of you were to get possession of it, power would be transferred to you but would not have an effect. It'd just sit in you dormant, and you would not be immortal."

Sydney quickly fires back "But, Sloane already has The Horizon! It's too late..." Tom shakes his head slowly and, with a wide smile, says "Oh, no it's not! Rambaldi also kept it a secret that the power of The Horizon can be transferred if another person were to take possession of it for 10 seconds. Rambaldi giveth...Rambaldi taketh away. And that's where Irina comes in."

Mike then says "Are you saying what I think you're saying? We're going to let Irina walk away with The Horizon?" Tom looks at Mike and says "The Horizon will have no effect on Irina. Mary has already talked to Irina about this plan...except for the part where The Horizon will do nothing to her. Irina's going to sneak into Sloane's office while I'm in there with him and take The Horizon from him. He'll become mortal, and Irina will remain mortal while in possession of The Horizon. That's where you take her down."

Sydney asks "Irina's going to know it's not going to work..." Nadia says _"No she won't. She'll feel the power enter her, but it's still going to deceive her. A lot depends on what happens when possession is transferred, but Sydney, Mary is going to help you track down Irina in the Omnifam building."_

Sydney sighs and says "How can I trust Mary to help me find our mother? She hasn't been upfront with us..." Tom replies "Because she didn't want to distract us from what we had to do. She knew Sloane was going to beat us to the punch and was just waiting for him to make his move. My mother knew all along that she was going to dupe Irina."

Sydney then asks "But, that doesn't answer how I can trust her..." Tom leans forward and sternly says "You can trust her because she's my mother. Think about it...when has she NOT had my best interests in heart? She might be a bit extreme in her actions, and her sense of timing might be odd, but she'd never betray me. And because she won't betray me, she won't betray you three, either. You have my word."

Sydney ponders what Tom just said. She thinks back to Mary's diary, and all she did for Tom and Nadia when she was alive. She then thinks back to the time Mary showed Nadia how to heal Tom's gunshot wound with The Lifeforce. She concludes that Mary has been helpful to him, indeed. She can be trusted.

Sydney slowly nods and says "You're right. Mary hasn't betrayed you and she really has no incentive to do so. I'll trust her." Tom cracks a small smile and says "Thank you for that."

David asks "When are we doing this?" Tom turns to him and says "Sloane is on his way back from Mongolia, where The Horizon was. He won't be in until after 4. Nadia suggested we plan the attack at around 5. So, we have 12 hours to psyche ourselves up and get ready."

Mike then says "I still don't understand...why do you need The Tonic?" Tom replies "I was informed that there's still a force at Omnifam that will be waiting to ambush us. My guess is that's why. I'll make that determination when we face it, though. Oh, and not a word to Karen about this...after I'm gone...I'll explain everything to her. I'll be able to talk to her from the afterlife, like Nadia and Mary can talk to me. I'll do it when you, Sydney, and David look at my will with her. Sydney, I'll give you a heads-up when I'm ready to communicate with her."

Mike, noticeably downtrodden over the fact that his good friend is going to die, just nods, but doesn't say anything. Sydney then stands up and says "I better inform my father on what's going on. He'll definitely be interested to know that my mother's going to be involved." Tom nods and says "That's a good idea."

Sydney then walks out the front door, pulling out a cell phone as she leaves.

Mike then says "Tom, I guess since we only have 12 hours left with each other...I guess there's something I should tell you...something that I've been keeping a secret for over three years now." Tom curiously asks "What's up?"

Mike looks over at David and, after he lets out a deep sigh, says "David, you don't know about this, either." David shrugs and says "Mike, what is it?"

Mike then looks down at the table. "I wasn't a part of the Torino mission. I wasn't there when our friends were killed. Even though I've said it doesn't bother me anymore, it does." Tom calmly says "James Lennox had you tasked to something else, a tracking mission if I remember correctly. I understand..."

Mike looks up and says "Tom, I had James lie to you. I wasn't tasked to anything else." Tom looks at Mike a little funny and asks "Well, what happened then?"

Mike lets out a deep sigh and replies "I was sick. I had the stomach flu. Early that morning, I was leaning over the toilet, heaving my guts out. I called James and he told me to see a doctor and pulled me from the mission." Tom, very surprised over this news, asks "Mike, why did you ask James to lie to me? I don't understand..."

Mike defensively replies "Not since we started in the Anti-Cartel have I skipped out the day of a mission with you, Tom. If I was feeling a little sick, I'd always gut it out. I didn't want to disappoint you." Tom shakes his head quickly and says "Mike, if you were too sick to help out in Torino, then I completely understand! If I saw the condition you were in, I wouldn't have let you come with us, of course!"

Mike sighs and says "It's not just that that weighs on me. It's just...our friends died and I should have been with them." Tom's jaw drops and he frantically asks "What the hell? Where is this coming from? Mike, that's insane thinking!"

Mike hangs his head and says "Every day since then has been a cruel blessing. If I wasn't sick, I'd be dead just like them. It bothers me that I wasn't there..." David then says "Mike, you couldn't have done anything to prevent what happened from happening! Do you know how bad I felt that I couldn't help out? I was there and I just had to sit and watch the building blow up in front of me! That's why I made it a goal to learn things like explosives and other ways I can help. I didn't want to feel that helpless again. But Mike, Tom's right. If you were too sick, what good would you have done?"

Before Mike can respond, Tom says "And now you're alive to take care of my sister. I'm thankful she has you in her life, and I'm so happy that you're going to have a kid together. And David, you're able to be a husband to a great woman and a father to two great kids. Don't regret not being there in the rubble with our friends...it's not worth it. And Mike, don't feel bad that you were too sick to help out in Torino. Remember back in 1999, when we were about to raid those bozos in Mexicali that were using babies to mule their product into the States? Remember how I got food poisoning and had to have you take point on the team while I sat out of the mission?"

Mike nods and says "Yeah, but that mission was successful, Torino wasn't." Tom shakes his head and says "So? The difference between success and failure sometimes is as thin as that clear wire I tripped over to trigger the explosions in Torino. My point is that, just like I would have been a liability when I was dealing with food poisoning, you would have been a liability if you went to Torino. That's why Storm Crew rolled 10 deep, to withstand those kind of things."

Mike sheepishly nods and says "Well, thanks for understanding. I've been living with that regret for so long..." Tom cuts him off. "Well, don't. When it comes to our friendship, we both have no regrets between us. Speaking of our friends...our brothers from Storm Crew be waiting for us in Elysium. They made it there."

David says "So, there's no heaven or hell, then?" Tom shrugs and says "Not necessarily. But, Elysium is just another place where the dead can go." Mike asks "What is Elysium like?" Tom replies "Well, it's great...besides everything being in this light shade of blue. It's a lot like how the afterlife was presented in the movie Gladiator. Elysium is designed to be a perfect replica of how Earth is. The difference between there and Earth is we can live forever, be whoever, however, and wherever we want, and there's no longer a need for road trips. If you want to be somewhere...BAM, you're there." Nadia then says _"By the way, there's a way you can get rid of that shade of blue. The way your mother explained it...it's like a default setting when people arrive to distinguish that they're not on Earth. Mary showed me how to get rid of it, I'll show you when you get here."_ Tom nods and says "Well, Nadia tells me just now that shade of blue can go away apparently, so I guess it is like Earth."

Tom then looks right, where he thinks Nadia would be, and says "Hey, any word on our daughter yet?" Nadia disappointingly says _"No. I checked while you were sleeping and there's no news from Laurent L'Andre yet. I was told he's working on a couple of leads."_ Tom sighs and says "I guess finding a child who's only 5 months along is like finding a needle in a haystack." Mike realizes something and says "That's why you were so worried about Maria while we were in Zurich." Tom nods and says "It'd be nice to know that she's waiting for me, too."

David, still a little mystified that Tom has this connection to the afterlife, says "Well...I hope you find her. It sucks that she wasn't allowed to live on Earth, but maybe she can live on there." Tom nods and says "I hope she does. I really do. I felt her kicking in Nadia's belly this time a week ago, not two days before Nadia died...I mean, she's gotta be there..."

Tom then stands up and says "If you don't mind, I'm going to take another walk. I've got a lot to sort out before we proceed on Sloane." Mike and David give him a couple of headnods, then Tom turns and walks out the door to the apartment.

David looks down at the table and says "It's just fair that he has to die..." Mike pats David on the shoulder and, trying to be reassuring, says "At least he's doing it for the right reasons. And from the sounds of it...he might not be out of our lives entirely. He can talk to Karen, and we'll see him again in the future."

David then stands up and says "But he's still my friend! And with all he's been through, and all he did for me...it just...why does this have to happen to him? Why?" As he sheds a few tears, he then quickly walks over to a bedroom and closes the door, leaving Mike feeling somber over David's reaction. He knows David has a close bond with Tom, and he understands what he's going through.

And the fact that his best friend is going to die isn't lost on him, either. Mike buries his head in his hands and tries to come to grips with what Tom has to do.

* * *

><p>It's almost showtime.<p>

Tom, Sydney, Mike, and David are gearing up. Mike and David put on their kevlar vests while Tom and Sydney sort through the guns that Tom brought with him from his safehouse in Tijuana.

As they continue to gear up, the hear a knock on the door. Mike and David stop what they're doing with their vests and look like they did not expect someone at the door. Sydney and Tom quickly point their guns at the door, fearful their safehouse has been compromised.

Tom then asks "Nadia, who's at the door?" Nadia quickly replies _"__It's __Jack __and __Vaughn.__"_ Tom looks at Sydney and says "Jack and Vaughn are here? Why?" Sydney confoundedly replies "I don't know...I didn't know they were coming..."

Tom then hears the door open. He realizes that it's being opened by Nadia, because as the door opens, he sees Jack and Vaughn standing at the doorstep, with their hands in their pockets.

Jack, who has a determined scowl on his face, asks "Can we come in?" Tom and Sydney both nod, with Tom saying "Of course, come in. Were you followed?" Vaughn smirks and says "Do you really have to ask?" Tom cracks a smirk himself and says "You're right, forgive me for being paranoid."

Jack and Vaughn walk in and Tom closes the door. Sydney curiously asks "What are you doing here, Dad? You never said you were coming." Jack looks at Sydney and says "I want to be there when we capture Irina." Sydney looks down, and then nods. "I understand." Vaughn then says "I also want to help however I can."

Jack looks at Tom and asks "Where is Irina?" Tom replies "I don't know. But she'll be there." Jack flatly asks "How do you know that?" Tom, holding his ground, replies "If my mother says something's going to happen...it's going to happen." Jack appears to buy that and just nods.

Vaughn, meanwhile, asks "What's the plan?" Tom replies "Before we do anything, we'll have Nadia scout the place, first. Then, we'll proceed when we know what we're up against. Sloane still has a force at his disposal, and he won't hesitate to use them against us. The question is...how do we take care of them?" Sydney then says "Can I make a suggestion?" Tom looks at her and says "Of course."

Sydney says "You said they'll likely ambush us earlier. I say that's when you drink The Tonic. You don't have to kill them, though." Tom raises a curious eyebrow at that. "Ok...we let them walk? They aren't just going to surrender if I ask nicely!" Nadia says _"__They __will __if __you're __immortal.__"_

Tom thinks about that for a bit, then smiles wide. "They'll think I'm a God. I'll give them a demonstration on my superpowers, and when they see that I can't be killed and when I remind them of all the death I'm responsible for the past couple days...they'll surrender out of fear." Jack nods and says "I'll contact Belgian Intelligence...they'll be happy to process them." Nadia then whispers to Tom _"__This __will __give __you __the __opening __to __handle __your __business __with __Irina __and __Sark!__"_

Tom nods and says "Good. After they surrender, you guys handle the change of custody. Me and Nadia will confront Sloane first. I don't want anyone that's mortal to go up to Sloane's office...he didn't hesitate to kill Nadia...he'll kill anyone else. Sydney, I promised that I'd let you have a crack at him...do you still want to confront him?" Sydney then says "First things first...what about my mother?"

Tom looks at her suspiciously...did she overhear what Nadia just told him?

Sydney, noticing Tom's pause, insistently says "How are we going to handle her, Tom?" Tom, realizing she didn't hear Nadia, composes himself and replies "I told you earlier that my mother will give you instructions. It all depends on when Irina shows up to take The Horizon. But when you're done with her...do you want a crack at Sloane or not?" Sydney nods and says "Yes. I'll radio you when we're done." Jack tersely asks "I want to be there, too." Tom nods affirmatively and says "There's plenty of revenge to go around. Vaughn, Mike, David...you three should stay with the captured men in case they start any funny business. I'll put the fear of God in them, so hopefully they won't do anything stupid."

Vaughn, Mike, and David nod affirmatively. Tom scans everyone and asks "Any other questions?" Everyone shakes their head or says "No."

Tom then says "If I don't get a chance before I drink The Tonic...it's been my pleasure knowing you all. Bury me next to Nadia. Go to my apartment, sort out my will and the rest of our belongings...and go live peaceful lives. Me and Nadia will check in on you guys from..." Mike holds up his hand and says "Tom, you can tell us goodbye later. This isn't the big dance number yet."

Tom sighs and says "Fine. Let's finish gearing up. Jack, Vaughn...I brought vests and guns. Help yourselves." Jack and Vaughn nod and start sorting through the gear.

* * *

><p>Everyone is now assembled outside of the Omnifam building, standing outside the Mustang convertible that was used in Sloane's warehouse assault yesterday. They're parked a block down from the building. Nadia is in the process of scanning the building. Everyone has either AK-47's or MP5's in their hands and all are suited up in kevlar vests.<p>

Tom sits on the hood of the car, looking up at the building and looks like he's in deep thought. Mike sits down next to him and asks "How are you feeling, bud?" Tom shrugs as he continues to look up and says "Fine."

Mike, realizing there's something else on Tom's mind, asks "Looks like you're thinking about something pretty hard." Tom sighs and says "Just thinking about what life in the afterlife is going to be like. It's a pretty strange feeling...knowing that, this time an hour from now, I'm going to be in a body bag. Now I know how suicide bombers feel."

Mike chuckles a bit and asks "Well, suicide bombers are usually blown to a hundred pieces, so I'm not sure that analogy is correct." Tom laughs and says "Yeah, you're right about that."

Tom looks over at Mike and says "I guess I feel pretty good, actually. I know what I've done so far, and what we're going to do here in a bit is going to do so much good. Not many people have the opportunity to do what I'm doing...knowing the impact they're going to make...and knowing where they're going when they die." Mike nods and says "Even though I'm going to miss you, I do appreciate what you're doing."

Sydney looks over and says "Me too." Jack nods and says "So do I." David cracks a faint smile and says "I'll miss you, but I understand." Vaughn sincerely says "Thank you for your sacrifice, Tom."

Tom smiles and says "No problem, guys. Even though I won't be able to live my dream life...maybe I can help you all live yours when this is done. I look forward to seeing you all when your time on earth is done."

Before anyone can say anything more, Nadia says _"Ok, I scouted the building. I have no idea how...but they're ready for you guys."_ Sydney says "Nadia says they're ready for us in the building. What all did you see?"

Nadia replies _"The elevators are shut down on the first five floors. You'll have to take the stairs up to the 5__th__ floor. From there, the stairs are blocked off. There's only one way you can go on the 5__th__ floor, and that leads to a large room where Prophet Five awaits."_ Tom says "Elevators are shut down for the first five floors, there's an ambush waiting for us on the 5th floor. That's where I'll drink The Tonic and get them to surrender. What else, Nadia?"

Nadia replies _"Irina is waiting on the 47__th__ floor, as she said she would. And then, Sloane is up on the 50__th__ floor in his office. He looks like he's getting ready to leave tonight."_ Tom says "Irina is on scene. I'll rendezvous with her and go into Sloane's office with her. Leave that to me and Nadia. Everyone else...take care of the surrendered troops, like we discussed. Irina will be taken care of once she has The Horizon. Jack, is Belgian Intelligence on their way?" Jack nods and says "They'll be here any moment. They'll be ready." Tom nods and says "Alright. Let's proceed. Good luck, everyone."

Tom turns to Mike with a determined look on his face. "Strength and Honor." Mike, with a smirk, says "Strength and Honor." David nods and says "Strength and Honor." Sydney smirks and says "Strength of Honor!" At the same time, Jack and Vaughn both say "Strength and Honor." And Nadia chimes in with a _"__Strength __and __Honor!__"_

Everyone then takes off down the sidewalk, everyone walking with power and purpose.

When they get to the outside lobby of the Omnifam building, they run up to the front door and walk right in the unlocked glass door. A security guard at the desk stands up and goes to draw his gun, but Tom guns him down before he can even draw his weapon.

Tom quickly asks "Nadia, where do I go?"Nadia replies _"Go forward past the desk, then make a left and take the first stairwell."_ Tom says "Wait, David, can you enable the elevators?" Before David can answer, Nadia says _"He can't. Sloane has them shut down, they can only be re-activated by him at his computer."_ Tom lets out a disappointed sigh and says "Nevermind, Sloane has them shut down from his office. We got some stair-climbing to do. Follow me, everyone."

Everyone then takes off down the path Nadia instructed them to follow. They find the stairwell and start to run up it. When they get to the 5th floor, they see it's gated off, with a warning that the gate is electrical if anyone touches it. Tom asks "Nadia, is this sign correct?" Nadia replies _"Yes. I wouldn't touch that gate._" Tom then tells everyone else "Ok, don't touch the gate, anyone...unless you want to join me and Nadia in the afterlife." No one appears willing.

Tom then walks right through the door to the 5th floor and goes right down a hallway. There's no other doors except for a pair of double doors to the back left of the hallway. He notices that there's cameras positioned throughout the hallway.

The team gets to the end of the hallway. Tom posts up next to the doors while everyone else stands behind him down the hallway. As soon as he gets to the doors, he hears a man cockily shout from inside the room "WE KNOW YOU'RE THERE! WE'RE WAITING!"

Tom smirks and looks back at Sydney, who's standing next to him. "You got The Tonic?" Sydney nods and pulls it out of her right pants pocket. Tom takes the vial and examines it for a bit. "This stuff is over 500 years old...probably tastes worse than tobacco spit." Sydney asks "Does it really matter?" Tom shakes his head and says "No, the aftertaste only lasts 20 minutes."

Tom then pulls the cork out of the top of the vial and gulps down the vial's contents. As he winces from the awful taste, he quickly hits a button on his digital watch on his left wrist that starts the countdown to his death.

_**20 minutes left**_

Suddenly, his body tenses up and starts shaking. After a few seconds, his body relaxes. A cold chill starts in his head, goes down his spine and finishes in his legs. Tom then takes a satisfied exhale as the chill travels down his body and he now has a wide, relaxed smile on his face. He turns to the rest of the team and exclaims "Wow, I feel good!"

As he says that, a figure appears to his front. Everyone else watches with great interest as Nadia Falk becomes visible to them once again. She's got a big closed smile on her face and is wearing the white v-neck long-sleeve shirt and white khakis that she wore two days ago when Tom underwent the Rambaldi Fluid treatment. Her long black hair streams down her back, with some of it cascading down her left shoulder like it did a few days ago. Also, Nadia is not transparent and appears like any other human would.

Tom smiles wide at her and says "Good to see you again, beautiful!" Nadia, keeping her big smile, says "Thanks, handsome!" Nadia's voice no longer sounds like it's going through a filter, either.

Sydney smiles at Nadia and says "Hey sis. You look good." Nadia looks at her with a grin, then walks over, gives Sydney a big hug, and says "Thanks! I feel good!" Sydney tries to return the hug, but her arms instead go through Nadia. Disappointed, Sydney says "Well, I guess you're not all the way back..." Nadia releases the hug and happily says "I'm as back as I need to be!"

Nadia looks over at Mike, David, Vaughn, and Jack and says "Hey guys. Thanks for helping Tom, everyone. I really appreciate it." Jack gives her a headnod and says "Good to see you, Nadia." Vaughn, still a little surprised to see her, says "No problem. You look nice." Meanwhile, David chuckles and says "It's good to HEAR you again, Nadia!" As Nadia laughs, Mike smirks and says "Yeah, I'm glad you're here. I just wish it was for real." Nadia solemnly nods and says "So do I. But I am in a better place now."

Tom then says "Ok, we need to get going. Time is ticking on me. Anyone that isn't immortal or in the afterlife...hang back. Me and Nadia got this." Everyone nods affirmatively.

Tom then turns to the door and yells "CAN WE TALK?" The man who originally yelled says "ARE YOU SURRENDERING?" Tom yells back "LET'S TALK ABOUT SURRENDER TERMS. ORDER YOUR MEN TO LOWER THEIR GUNS, ME AND MY ACCOMPLICE WILL WALK IN AND WILL NOT HAVE OUR GUNS DRAWN! YOU HAVE MY WORD!"

After a brief pause, the man yells "LOWER YOUR GUNS! ALRIGHT, CARETAKER, YOU MAY ENTER!" Tom replies "ONLY IF YOU AGREE TO CALL ME TOM! I DON'T LIKE THAT NICKNAME!" The man yells back "FINE!"

Tom opens the door and lets Nadia walk in. Tom follows behind her.

The Prophet Five troops circle them on all sides. Their apparent leader stands in the middle of the human ring in the large room with a shit-eating grin on his face. Tom and Nadia walk up to him and stop. Tom looks around and sees everyone has their guns lowered, just like he does.

The man in front of him chuckles a bit and says "Here's what we're going to do..." Tom smirks and says "I like your style. No small talk...just cut right to the chase."

The man unflinchingly replies "Arvin Sloane wants you brought to his office. He said nothing of the woman, though." Nadia folds her arms and irritatedly says "I find that fitting, since I apparently wasn't worth his time for most of my life."

The man raises his eyebrows. "This is Nadia...his daughter? I thought you were dead?" Nadia smirks and says "I am." The man, now looking a little spooked, asks "Then how can I see you?" Nadia replies "Because my man is now immortal, too. Rambaldi gave him something to drink, and when he drank it, I became visible." As she says that, Tom just casually takes off his kevlar vest and tosses it to the ground, demonstrating that he's not afraid to be shot at.

The man looks back at Tom as the vest hits the ground. He then smirks and incredulously says "I don't believe you two." Tom chuckles and shakes his head as he pulls out his Desert Eagle .50 from the back of his pants. He hands it to Nadia and says "Shoot me." Nadia looks at him funny and says "Are you sure?" Tom smiles and says "Pretend I'm your father. Go for it."

Tom turns to Nadia and points to his forehead. "Put one right there, babe." Nadia grabs the gun and points it at Tom. She looks a little unsure on whether to shoot him at first. The man looks on with a curious look...anxious to see Tom's head blown off.

_POW!_

Nadia fires a shot. Tom's head jerks back and he staggers back a bit. But, he doesn't fall to the ground.

Instead, he looks back down at the man leading the troops with an evil smile. The bullet is stuck in Tom's forehead and apparently hasn't drawn any blood.

Tom pulls out the bullet and examines it. The bullet looks absolutely perfect and isn't crushed at the end. The bullet hole remains visible, but no blood comes out.

And then, the man gasps as he watches the bullet hole disappear on Tom's head. The skin regenerated and healed the wound in a matter of a second. _(Note: __kind __of __like __how __Wolverine's __wounds __from __X-Men __would __heal __up)_

Tom then casually flicks the bullet away and says "Believe us now?" The man shakes his head, then quickly points his handgun at Nadia's head and fires.

Nadia just blinks as the bullet passes through her and hits the arm of one of the Prophet Five troops behind her. The now-wounded man drops his gun and screams in pain.

As the leader drops his gun and looks at his wounded man in shock, Tom walks back up to him and points his AK-47, which has been hanging on his shoulder strap this whole time, at the man's head. Nadia also points the Desert Eagle Tom handed her at his head as well.

Tom then says "Ok, here's the terms of your surrender! You are going to order these men to lay their guns on the ground and follow the rest of my team out of the building! You will surrender to Belgian Intelligence, and live to fight another day. If you do not surrender..." Tom turns and starts pointing his gun at the other troops as he walks around in a circle. "I WILL MURDER EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU HERE! AND DON'T THINK I WON'T DO IT! I KILLED THE REST OF YOUR HOMIES AT THE WAREHOUSE YESTERDAY!"

Before the leader can even say everything, everyone drops their guns to the ground and puts their hands up in a surrender. The leader, feeling just as helpless as his troops, says "Ok, I surrender!" Nadia says "Lay your gun on the ground. And you, along with everyone else here, lay down any other weapons you have!"

Everyone willingly does as instructed...fearful of upsetting the immortal man and spirit woman that are in their presence. Handguns and knives hit the floor.

When they're done, Tom then turns back to the double doors he entered in and says "Get in here, guys! It's safe, they surrendered!"

Sydney, Jack, Mike, David, and Vaughn enter the room with their guns drawn. Tom then turns to the leader and says "Everyone form two 10-person lines and do as the rest of my team says! If I hear any trouble through this radio..." Tom then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small walkie-talkie. "...I will come back down and butcher each and everyone one of you! And there will be nothing you can do about it! Understood?" The surrendered Prophet Five troops all nod quickly and start to form their lines.

Jack and Vaughn go over to the left side of the troops while Tom, Nadia, Sydney, Mike, and David stay on the right side. Tom turns to Nadia and says "Hey, is my mother present?" Before Nadia can answer, he hears Mary say _"__I'm __here. __Good __work __so __far. __Sydney, __as __soon __as __Irina __has __The __Horizon, __I __will __guide __you. __You __have __my __word.__"_ Sydney nods and says "Alright."

Tom then says "Escort these men out of the room. Mom, go with Sydney. Mike and David will join you all in a bit. I need to talk to them first." Jack, Sydney, and Vaughn nod. Sydney then turns to the surrendered troops and says "Everyone, follow me!" Sydney walks up to the front and follow Sydney out, with Vaughn and Jack escorting them on the sides.

Tom watches them leave, then turns to Mike and David and says "After these men are in custody, you're free to go." Mike remorsefully nods, knowing this is the last time he's going to see Tom alive. David then cracks a few tears in his eyes and says "So, this is it?" Tom shakes his head and says "Death is but another step we take in life. We'll see each other again in the future, I promise."

Tom reaches into his pocket and hands Mike a door key. "You two go to my apartment in LA and look at my will with Sydney. It's on the coffee table. Take the things I've left for you and follow my instructions on your compensation." David, looking extremely saddened, asks "How are you compensating us?"

Tom cracks a small smile and says to David "I'm going to take care of you and your family. You're getting the contents to my safehouse in Tijuana." David sniffles a bit and says "What's in there?" Tom, who's eyes have also started to get watery, says with a smile "$5,815,071 in Mexican pesos...which is equal to roughly $430,000 American dollars."

David looks at Tom shocked when he hears those dollar figures. He asks "How did you get all that money?" Tom replies "I skimmed from cartel raids. That was part of the money I saved up so I could treat myself and Nadia to our dream life. Over the course of 10 years in the Anti-Cartel...that worked out to quite a lot of money." David shakes his head and says "I don't know what to say..."

Tom puts his hand on David's shoulder and says "Put Davie and Susan through college. Pay your mortgage. Just take care of your family with it, ok? That's all I ask." David nods and says "Of course, thank you." Tom shakes his head as he gives David a hug and says "No. Thank you for being a good friend and ally. Like I told you before, if there's one good thing I can tell people I did...it's recruiting you to Storm Crew. Seeing you not only be able to be a father to your son, but also grow as both a man and an agent has been great to see. I'm proud of you." David hangs his head and sheds a couple more tears as he releases the hug. Mike then says to David "I'll show you how to launder that money and get it stateside. There's a guy I went through for my skim money." David looks at him and sheepishly nods. He doesn't say anything...unable to find the words at the moment.

Tom looks at Mike and says "And you're going to need that guy again, because you are getting the safehouse in Campeche. Only you know where it is...and I'd rather it stay that way. In there, like in Tijuana, you'll find weapons as well as $5,143,981 in Mexican pesos...or a little over $360,000 American dollars. I'm also willing $200,000 of my legit money to Karen. That will give you two nearly $560,000 to take care of yourselves as well as my nephew Danny and your son or daughter."

Tom then walks over to a speechless Mike and stands in front of him. "I only ask two things from you after I'm gone." Mike, who's started to look a little weepy himself, says "What would you have me do?" Tom, with a solemn look on his face, replies "Take care of my sister..." Mike nods quickly and says "Of course!" Tom then says "...and use this ring when you ask her to marry you."

Tom reaches into his pocket and pulls out his mother's engagement ring...the one that he gave Nadia when he asked her to marry him in Sovogda. "This ring was my mother's. I originally gave it to Nadia, but now that she can't use it anymore...I think my sister would be touched if you offered her that ring. She always loved that ring." Mike grabs the ring, then hugs Tom as he cries a bit. "Thank you..." With some tears in his eyes as well, Tom pats Mike on the back as they hug and says "No, thank you. You've been my most loyal friend for 15 years and we've been through hell and back together. I was always honored to call you my brother from another mother...now I'd be honored to call you my brother-in-law."

Mike then releases the hug and says "I'll miss you, but you have my word I'll take care of Karen." Tom nods as he wipes some tears away and says "I know you will, and I appreciate that. Strength and honor...always." Mike and David, both trying to compose themselves, say "Strength and honor." Tom then says "I'll check in on you two from a time to time. You may never know I'm there, but if I need to tell you guys anything, I'll talk through Karen."

Nadia then says "It was a pleasure to know and work with you. Thanks for all you've done." Mike, trying to lighten the sad mood, smirks and says "Thanks for loving my best friend!" Nadia grins and says "No problem, it was easy!" David then reluctantly smiles and says "I can see why Tom likes you so much. It's been great knowing you, too." Nadia smiles and says "You too."

Then, with long looks returning on their faces, Mike and David grab their guns and walk out towards the exit of the room. Then, Mike and David look back at Tom one final time as they get to the door. Tom cracks a smile at them and gives them a headnod. The headnod is returned as they disappear around the corner.

Tom then hangs his head and, with a despondent look on his face, says "Nadia, I've done some difficult things in my life...but I've never done anything as hard as that." Nadia pats Tom on his back as tears start to fall down his face and says "You did fine."

Tom takes a deep breath and says "Ok, we should get going." Nadia asks "How much time is left for you?" Tom looks at his watch.

_**15 minutes left**_

Tom replies "15 minutes. We're still on schedule. Let's go." Tom then walks by the discarded guns with Nadia and goes through a different set of double doors.

When they get out to that hallway, Nadia says "Go right. You'll take the elevator." Tom looks at Nadia funny as he starts walking right and says "I thought the elevators are shut down?" Nadia replies "Just up to the 5th floor. They'll work now."

Tom walks up to an elevator and hits the up button. The doors open immediately. Tom and Nadia walk in and Tom hits the button for Floor 47. As the doors close, Tom looks at Nadia and says "Is Sark up there, too?" Nadia nods. "Yeah, he has no idea what's coming."

Tom, apparently feeling better after wishing Mike and David farewell, smiles and says "By the way, you look absolutely beautiful...as always." Nadia smiles and says "Thank you. You don't look so bad, yourself!" Tom then examines her as the elevator starts going up. "Is there nothing else to wear in Elysium?" Nadia shrugs as she looks down at her attire. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Tom replies "Well, nothing...except it's what you wore a couple days ago." Nadia rolls her eyes and says "Like I said then, me and Mary are united in your support!" Tom nods and says "I remember...I just wanted to make sure our clothing isn't limited to white long-sleeve v-necks in Elysium." Nadia laughs and says "Remember, we can be whatever, however, and wherever we want, you fool!"

Tom turns forward and says "I can't wait to get there."

* * *

><p>The elevator doors open in Floor 47. Tom walks out with Nadia. Nadia says "Turn left, then go in the first door on the right." Tom nods as he walks left and walks up to the door Nadia mentioned to open.<p>

Tom opens the door and sees Irina Derevko and Julian Sark in the middle of the room.

Irina is wearing a very confident look on her face and is dressed in all black. Sark, meanwhile, gives Tom and Nadia a cocky smirk as he sits in his wheelchair in a polo shirt and slacks. His hair is buzzed short, but the scars on the left side of his head and face he acquired during and after his post-Sovogda encounter at APO with Tom are still visible.

Tom smirks at Sark and says "You look just about like I left you at APO...only a little less bloody!" Sark, still smirking but internally seething at seeing Tom, blankly says "Hello to you, too." Tom then looks at his wheelchair and, with an evil smirk, says "Nice wheels! If I had difficulty walking because of a post-beatdown stroke, I'd probably want something like that to roll my worthless ass around!" As Sark's smirk disappears, Tom sarcastically asks "Does leather come standard on that model?" Sark flatly says "No."

Meanwhile, Irina smiles at Nadia and says "It's good to see you, sweetheart." Nadia, keeping her poker face, says "Likewise." Irina takes note of Nadia's coldness towards her, but says nothing.

Irina then says "I take it you neutralized the Prophet Five troops?" Tom nods and says "Yeah, we got them to surrender. They're being escorted out of the building as we speak." Sark, apparently oblivious to Tom's immortality and Nadia's death, curiously says "Two people cause twenty to surrender. One has to wonder how you pulled that miracle off." Tom turns to Nadia and says "You can't kill what is already dead."

As Nadia smirks back at Tom, Sark asks "What do you mean by that?" Tom then waves his hand through Nadia, causing Sark's eyes to bug out. "Ok, I give up. What the bloody hell is going on?" Tom confidently replies "Nadia is dead. And I'm just about dead."

Sark shakes his head in befuddlement. "Am I really seeing dead people?" Tom replies "In the case of Nadia, yes. As for me...turns out Rambaldi had room for one more immortal person in his prophecy. The only catch with me is...I'm dead in about 13 minutes." Irina then says "Tom drank a hidden artifact that Rambaldi never revealed to anyone except to him. He's immortal for now, but it's going to cause his heart to explode eventually. Meanwhile, Sloane killed my daughter a few days ago, but because of her...'connection' to Tom, she's been helping him out the past few days..."

Tom smirks and says "All of Rambaldi's artifacts are destroyed, and The Alliance of Twelve, Kelly Peyton, and a whole bunch of rent-a-mercs are dead thanks to me." Sark thinks for a bit, then says "Let me guess...Nadia's death caused you to go on a rampage." Tom nods and says "The more appropriate reason is Rambaldi knew that Nadia's death would send me on the rampage. This was predicted in the ultimate prophecy...which I revealed a couple days ago. I've been tasked with ending his prophecy, although I'm more concerned with killing Sloane at this point...and to do that, Irina has to take The Horizon from him. Letting Irina live won't prevent me from rejoining my wife in the afterlife, and Sloane gets to die, so I still win."

Sark nods, then looks over at Nadia with a confident look on his face. "I knew when Nadia visited me in the hospice that she was something special. It's a shame no one on earth will feel the taste her kiss again." As Nadia looks at him all offended, Tom condescendingly says "Like you would know what she tastes like!" Sark chuckles and asks "I see Nadia never told you everything about our encounter in the hospice. I thought she tasted quite lovely that day."

Irina forms an irritated look on her face and glares at Sark. Meanwhile, Tom's jaw drops as he turns to Nadia. Nadia looks back at him with a look of concern. "I'm sorry, in exchange for changing his testimony on you, he asked me to kiss him." Irina forms a look of fury on her face and yells at Sark "YOU ASKED HER TO DO WHAT?"

Sark looks up at Irina and says "Well, I didn't think you'd mind..." Irina, still seething in anger, says "I never asked you to take advantage of my daughter! I just asked that you change the testimony when Nadia showed up!" Tom asks Irina "Why would you do that?" Irina looks back at him and replies "In exchange for the million dollars I promised Sark, he had to change his testimony after Nadia was revived. For doing that, I'd get more information on The Horizon from your mother. But I never asked him to take advantage of you, Nadia. I'm so sorry." Nadia shakes her head and flatly says "I don't care, it freed my husband."

Nadia then looks at Sark with an angry scowl. "I'm more offended over the fact that your kiss was terrible." Sark, keeping his poker face, says "I apologize that a man that suffered a stroke, has trouble controlling his own facial muscles, and was bed-ridden for 11 months prior to our meeting can't kiss up to your satisfaction." Sark then looks at Tom and inquisitively asks "By the way...when you kissed her, did you ever taste a hint of apricot, too?"

Tom then points his Desert Eagle at Sark and, with a furious scowl on his face, asks "Irina, can I kill this bastard now?" Irina, still pissed off herself, points her handgun at Sark's head and says "Allow me!"

As Sark looks alarmed at the guns all of the sudden being pointed at him, Tom yells "IRINA, WE HAD A DEAL! SARK IS MINE!" Irina looks back at Tom and, keeping her gun pointed at Sark, says "No one takes advantage of my daughter."

Tom then points his gun at Irina. "How about I let Sark take The Horizon and I blow your head off instead?" Irina looks at him surprised that he'd say that. Sark, meanwhile, says "I rather like that idea, actually. Good thinking, Tom."

Tom, ignoring Sark's desparate comment, says "Rambaldi wanted you dead, Irina. He didn't give a crap less about Sark." Sark, a little offended, asks "I'm not good enough for Rambaldi? How would you know?" Tom, still eying down Irina, replies "Me and Milo had a little chat a few days ago. That's all you need to know. So Irina, what's it going to be? Are you going to let your life's dream slip away just so you can kill a worthless yuppie because he stole a kiss from a daughter you were never there for?"

Irina looks at Tom a little offended over that last part, but then lowers her gun and says "You're right. We did have a deal, and I have to honor it. Kill him." Sark looks at Irina with a look of fear and says "Irina..." Tom cuts him off...with gunshots.

_POW! POW! POW!_

From about 10 feet away, Tom fires three shots into Sark's chest. Sark goes flying back out of his wheelchair and tumbles out of it.

Irina hunches over him and puts her fingers to his throat. She looks back up and says "He's dead." Tom lowers his gun and says to Irina "And NO ONE takes advantage of my wife! That's why I demanded I kill Sark just now...and that's why Sloane is going to die here in a bit."

Tom looks back down at his watch.

_**11 minutes left**_

Tom looks back up and says "Let's roll. We're way ahead of schedule...which is just fine for me. More time for Sloane..." Irina follows Tom and Nadia out of the office.

As they walk toward the elevator, Irina says "I'll go up with you, then hang back outside the office. When you give me the signal to come in, I will." Tom nods as he hits the button to open the elevator door, which opens right away. "Sounds good. I'll whistle when it's time for you. We'll both get what we want here in no time."

Tom, Nadia, and Irina would then enter the elevator.

* * *

><p>Tom and Nadia storm out of the elevator. Both have looks of determination on their faces, knowing that this is the big showdown with Sloane coming up. Irina walks out behind them and takes her position at the empty receptionist's desk.<p>

Tom pulls out his Desert Eagle and chambers a round. He looks over at Nadia and says "You ready for this?" Nadia nods and, keeping her look of determination, says "More than anything." Tom then asks "You cool with the plan?" Nadia replies "Yeah." Tom then says "Anytime you want to jump in..." Nadia cuts him off. "I'll let you know."

Tom nods as he forces the double doors to Sloane's office open. As he starts to round the corner to the office area, he yells "HAPPY HALLOWEEN! TRICK OR TREAT! I'M HERE TO BEAT THE CANDY OUT OF YOUR..."

_POW!_

Unfortunately for Tom, Sloane was there to greet him with a shotgun blast to the face. Tom goes flying back and hits the top of his head on the back wall as he lands on his back.

As Sloane cracks a satisfied grin, a worried Nadia runs over and leans over Tom to check on him. Sloane finally notices her and assertively says "Well, isn't this is a nice surprise! Hello, Nadia. Sorry for sending your husband to the afterlife, too."

Nadia ignores him as she leans over Tom. He has shotgun pellets all over his face, which is frozen and staring at the sky. Nadia wonders if The Tonic failed him...

Suddenly, Tom winks with his left eye and smirks a bit, informing Nadia that he's ok. As Nadia winks back at him, Sloane, not seeing this take place, tells Nadia "When Tom arrives in the afterlife, ask him how it feels to have worked so hard for so long towards something, only to lose in the end."

"Why don't you ask yourself that?"

Sloane's face goes aghast as Tom sits up and eyes him down with an evil smirk. Tom lightly brushes away the pellets on his face, which fall off of him easily since they barely broke his skin. After they fall off, the various small holes on his face close up with brand new skin.

Sloane drops his shotgun in shock over what he's seeing. With his mouth quivering, he asks "What is this?" Tom gets up to his feet and says "Like I just told Julian Sark before I put three bullets in his chest just a little bit ago, Rambaldi had room for another immortal man in his prophecy."

Sloane looks perplexed at that. "Was this in your ultimate prophecy?" Before Tom can answer, Nadia says "Tom drank a compound that gives him immortality for 20 minutes before exploding his heart. He's got about 10 minutes left. That compound gives me the ability to be seen, and gave me the ability to follow your every step the past few days."

Sloane lets out a relieved sigh and says "Well, it would seem your tracking abilities did nothing to stop me from finishing Rambaldi's endgame...and now, your husband is going to be dead here in a little bit. You know, Tom, I'll admit that your little...warpath the past couple days worried me just a little bit. But when you delivered Kelly Peyton's head to me...you let me steal immortality away from Irina Derevko. Thank you for that." Tom snaps back "That's fine and dandy, but I have YOU to thank for me being able to recreate the ultimate prophecy. See, you're wrong if you think you accomplished Rambaldi's endgame. While I recreated the ultimate prophecy page, I had a chat with Milo a couple days ago."

Sloane curiously asks "Did you? How?" Tom replies "I died a couple days ago and chatted with him in the afterlife before I came back to life. That extra bag of Rambaldi Fluid that you got for Nadia in Japan was in DSR custody before you raided their facility. Thanks to that very fluid...that VERY fluid YOU bought...I was able to recreate the ultimate prophecy page and launch the path of rage that I've been on the past couple days. Would you like to know what Rambaldi's REAL endgame was?"

Sloane quickly says "Tell me." Tom replies "Rambaldi's real endgame was the destruction of his prophecy and the death of every evil bastard that followed it...including you. And to think...if you hadn't gotten that extra fluid to inject into your own daughter with...maybe I wouldn't be here now."

Sloane raises a curious eyebrow and asks "Why would Rambaldi want his own prophecy destroyed?" Tom smirks and replies "Because, towards the end of his research, he started playing with a different deck of cards. He started realizing that his prophecy would bring out the worst in people and started having regrets. And then, when my ancestor Laurent L'Andre went on a similar rampage over his pregnant wife being beaten badly by the local police, Rambaldi realized that love, not greed, conquers all. And combined with his regret over his prophecy, he wanted everything that has happened up to this point to happen. Unfortunately, that meant he also wanted my wife to die by your hands. But that's ok...shortly, I'm going to the afterlife to be with my family, my wife and hopefully my baby girl. And you'll be dead and sent to burn in hell for all I know."

Sloane shakes his head and, with an evil smirk, says "Impossible. Rambaldi might have been a smart man, but immortal is immortal. That part of his prophecy is absolute." Nadia replies "Oh no it's not. There was a reason Rambaldi put immortality in something that can be lost...and I know The Horizon is in the top drawer on the left at your desk...I looked just a little while ago. And the person that's going to take it from you in a little while knows it's there, too." As Sloane looks at Nadia strangely at that last part, Tom says "Possession can be lost if another person handles it for more than 10 seconds. You want to see that put to the test?"

Sloane, a little fearful now, says "You're lying." Tom smirks and says "We'll see about that..." Tom then turns to Nadia and says "Go do that voodoo that you do so well."

Nadia cracks a cocky smirk and disappears. Sloane, a little mystified, asks "What just happened? Where's Nadia?" Tom just stands there with an evil smirk.

Suddenly, Nadia reappears behind Sloane and she puts him in a rear naked choke. She wrestles him to the ground and grapevines her legs around his waist so he can't move.

Sloane doesn't appear to be choking. However, he finds that he's incapable of fighting off Nadia's choke, much like Director Chase was a couple days ago. Her afterlife strength is too powerful for Sloane to fight through, and he can't even grab Nadia's arm to pry off of his throat. His hand just keeps going through hers like it wasn't even there.

With his voice strained by his neck being constricted, Sloane yells "LET GO OF ME!" Nadia, with a sneer on her face, replies "Not a chance." Nadia then looks over at Tom and says "Call her in." Tom lets out a loud whistle.

Soon, Irina Derevko walks into the room and watches Nadia have Sloane restrained in a chokehold. With a satisfied grin, she says "Hello, Arvin." Sloane, with his voice still tight and with a very displeased look on his face, growls "You..."

Irina, still grinning, says "Yeah...me." Irina then casually walks by Tom and Sloane and walks over to Sloane's desk at the northwest part of the office. She opens the top left door and grabs The Horizon sphere.

At that moment, Tom looks down at his watch...

_**8 minutes left**_

Tom, still looking at his watch, then starts the countdown. "10...9...8...7..." Sloane tries to shift out of the chokehold that Nadia has him in, but to no avail. "6...5...4...3..." Irina starts walking towards Tom.

"2...1...0."

Irina suddenly stops and closes her eyes. Her body tenses up, then relaxes. A cold chill goes down her spine, and she lets out a relieved breath. She feels much like Tom did 12 minutes ago when he drank The Tonic.

As she's doing that, all of the sudden Sloane starts gagging, now feeling the sensation of being choked for the first time since Nadia took him down to the ground. Tom evilly smirks and says "Welcome back to mortality, asshole." Sloane is unable to respond, as Nadia's arm is now crushing his windpipe.

Tom looks over at Irina and says "I don't think you're going to want to see this next part." Irina, with a beaming grin on her face, says "Have fun, you two. Thanks for immortality." Tom, knowing full well what his mother told him earlier about The Horizon's effect on Irina, smirks and replies "You're welcome. Sydney and everyone else should be gone with the surrendered troops. Good luck with her if you run into her in the future." Irina cockily shakes her head and says "Don't need any."

Irina then quickly walks out of the room. As she walks, she hears Mary say _"Tom's right, she's gone. You can go out the front door, through the ambush room."_ Tom watches as Irina hits the button to go down on the elevator.

As Irina walks in the elevator, Tom then picks up his walkie-talkie out of his pocket and says "Sydney, the switch has been made. It worked as my mother described. Irina is heading down the elevator, she'll be going through that room we were just in. Mom, you can take it from here. Good luck." Through the walkie, Sydney says "Thank you. I'll let you know when it's done."

Tom then pockets his walkie-talkie and looks down at Sloane, who's face is turning blue from Nadia's rear naked choke on him. "Arvin, would you like your daughter to let you go?" Sloane manages a small nod. Tom then looks at Nadia and says "Let your daddy go." Nadia does as instructed and lets him go.

Sloane rolls over and lies face-down on the ground and is aggressively sucking wind, trying to get his breath back from the lengthy chokehold Nadia had on him.

Nadia gets on her feet as Tom then walks over and stands with Nadia over Sloane. With a cocky smirk on his face, he says "Hey, you ok there, father-in-law? Well, I'm guessing not...seeing as you're back to being mortal and all." Tom then squats down and grabs Sloane by his hair, lifts his head up, and whispers in his ear. "You told me in your letter after Nadia died that I couldn't do a damn thing to you anymore. But guess what? You can't do a damn thing to ME anymore! And by killing Nadia, you made her more powerful than ever. And together...your daughter and your son-in-law are going to make the last minutes of your life a living hell for you...and a slice of heaven for me before I die."

Tom then drops Sloane's head and looks up at Nadia. "Get him up to his feet." Nadia bends over and grabs Sloane by the back of his shirt and forces him up to his feet. She grabs Sloane's arms and holds them back and turns him so he can face Tom.

Tom sees Sloane looking back at him with both a weary and defeated look...weary from the choke he was just put in...and defeated over the fact that The Horizon is gone. Tom then looks at Nadia, then back at Sloane and says "Arvin, the only way you're going to get mercy is if Nadia tells me to stop. And seeing as you ruined and ended her life...I don't think she's feeling that merciful, either." Nadia nods her head affirmatively and almost looks giddy over what's going to come.

Tom gets in Sloane's face and yells "Your dream is over! And your nightmare has begun!" Sloane just looks at him defiantly and says "Do your worst." Tom smirks and says "With pleasure."

Tom then balls up his right fist. He clinches it tightly, wanting his titanium-backed shots to have maximum impact.

And then, he cracks Sloane in the mouth with a hard right cross. The sound of teeth breaking in Sloane's mouth is heard as his head snaps over to the right.

Sloane spits out some teeth and looks back at Tom with a sneer. Blood starts to trickle out of the side of his mouth. Tom smiles at the damage he's caused already, then says "I've been waiting almost two years to do that...ever since I first read your profile and learned what you did to Nadia. And now, I get to make up for lost time..."

Tom cracks Sloane in the face with another punch with his titanium-bone right fist...and another...and another...

_**7 minutes left in Tom's life**_

* * *

><p>Sydney looks on from just outside the front doors of the Omnifam lobby as the surrendered Prophet Five troops get loaded onto a bus that was provided by Belgian Intelligence.<p>

All of the sudden, she hears Tom Falk through her walkie-talkie. "Sydney, the switch has been made. It worked as my mother described. Irina is heading down the elevator, she'll be going through that room we were just in. Mom, you can take it from here. Good luck." Sydney quickly replies "Thank you. I'll let you know when it's done."

Sydney then turns and goes into the front doors. Vaughn, Mike, and David continue to oversee the prisoner transfer. Jack, meanwhile, notices Sydney walk back through the front doors.

As Sydney rounds the corner to the stairwell, she hears Mary say _"You should be able to meet her in the big room on the 5__th__ floor. Tom told her that you had gone, so she won't be expecting you."_ Sydney then asks "Did the transfer work completely? Is she still mortal?" Mary replies _"Yes. She thinks she's immortal. You'll have the advantage when you kill her."_

Sydney shakes her head as she heads up the stairs. "Mary, I don't want to kill my mother." Mary replies _"She's not going to surrender willingly! There is no other way!" _Sydney just ignores her as she reaches the 5th floor.

She rounds the corner and goes down the hallway and into the large room.

As she steps in the room...so does Irina on the other side.

Irina freezes in her tracks, surprised at seeing Sydney. She asks Mary "Mary, I thought you said she was gone!" Mary simply replies _"Oops."_ As Irina wonders why Mary would lead her into a trap, Sydney flatly tells Irina "I'm here to stop you."

Irina cracks a smirk and says "I didn't know you wanted immortality, too." Sydney flatly replies "I don't." Irina then says "Well, then you have a problem, now don't you? I don't see anyone else with you."

Irina starts confidently walking across the room, stepping over the discarded weapons that the troops surrendered to Tom just a few minutes ago. Sydney starts slowly walking towards her mom and says "Mom, just come with us. You don't have to do this." Irina curiously asks "Do what?"

Sydney replies "I know you want to take Sloane's idea of destroying two major cities and profiting from their reconstruction. I can't let you do that." Irina shakes her head and reassuringly says "Sydney, I would never do that."

As Sydney and Irina stand face-to-face, Sydney asks "Mary, is she telling the truth?" Mary quickly replies _"No way."_ Irina turns away and irritatedly says "Stay out of this, Mary..." Mary says _"Hey, you're immortal, right? Why are you listening to me anymore? You can handle your daughter...remember?"_

Irina then turns back to Sydney and says "Join me, Sydney. I'll make sure Isabelle is taken care of for the rest of her life, and I'll make sure her children and grandchildren are, too." Sydney shakes her head and says "Tom's already taking care of Isabelle financially. And I want no part in your plan."

Irina sighs and says "Then I guess I'm going to have to kill you." Sydney looks a little surprised that she'd say that and says "You don't mean that..." Irina cuts her off. "I've pursued Rambaldi's longer than you have been alive. And now, I have it. I'll give you one last chance to get out of my way. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

Sydney defiantly remains standing in front of Irina. Then, she pulls out her walkie-talkie and says "Dad..."

Irina cuts her off by swatting the walkie-talkie out of her right hand. She then reaches for her handgun, which is in her holster on her right hip. Sydney goes to grab her arm, but instead Irina punches her in the face and hip-tosses Sydney to the ground.

Before Sydney can react further, she looks up from her back and sees Irina has pulled out that handgun and has it pointed at her face. Irina looks down at Sydney with a remorseless look on her face, ready to kill. Sydney, meanwhile, looks up and lets out a worried "Mom?"

Irina isn't phazed and she slowly starts to squeeze the trigger...

_POW!_

Sydney closes her eyes. Her whole life flashes in an instant. But quickly, she realizes she's not dead. She opens her eyes and sees Irina has dropped her gun and has a pained and shocked look on her face.

Irina looks down at her upper stomach and sees a bloody hole has formed, with blood trickling out of it. She feels pain...something she shouldn't be feeling. She's supposed to be immortal, after all. Her jaw drops...her lip quivers...life is escaping her. All she can ask is "h...how?"

Irina slowly turns back and sees Jack Bristow lowering his handgun and looking at her with a menacing sneer. She quickly realizes that it was Jack that just shot her. Irina utters "You?" Jack coldly tells her "I already killed you once because I thought you wanted my daughter dead. Now that you actually did...this was easy. Damn you, Irina."

Irina's knees suddenly get wobbly and she drops down to those very knees. Sydney scrambles up to her knees and looks at her wound with a look of concern. She then looks up at Jack with that same look of concern. Jack coldly replies "I had no choice. She would have killed you."

Irina reaches into her left cargo pant pocket and pulls out The Horizon and stares at it as pain and blood continue to pour out of her body. She shakes her head and asks "Why...why didn't..."

She's answered by Mary Falk. _"Rambaldi planted a genetic modification in your seedbearer that you were meant to pass down to Sydney. It was Sydney that was meant to suppress the power of The Horizon. However, you also have the power to hold onto The Horizon's power without it having an effect on you. The Horizon deceived you, and will forever remain in you even after you die, provided no one else handles The Horizon." _Irina looks down at the floor and says "You...betrayed me, Mary..." Mary says _"If you want to point a finger at someone...point it at Rambaldi. But before you do, consider pointing it at yourself."_

Irina closes her eyes and a tear streams down her face. "My life...was for nothing." Sydney puts her hands on Irina's shoulders and, with her eyes getting watery, says "No! You prevented Sloane from having The Horizon and saved the world from a terrible power. You helped us...you helped me, Mom!"

Irina opens her eyes and looks at Sydney with a heartfelt look on her face. "I'm...I'm so sorry..." Sydney, not sure what to make of that, asks "Sorry for what?" Irina, her life now ticking down to it's final seconds, replies "...for not being there...for you...and Nadia. I deserve...this."

Irina then turns to Jack, who's standing to her left, and says "Thank you." And with that, Irina takes her final breath and collapses to the right in a lifeless heap.

Sydney quickly checks her pulse. She gets nothing. Irina Derevko, her mother, is dead.

Sydney closes her eyes and puts her head in her palm. Her bottom lip quivers and she looks like she wants to cry. Jack puts his arm around her for comfort.

But instead of wallowing in misery, Sydney stands up and resolutely says "What's done is done. And now, there's just one thing left to do." Jack stands to his feet and says "Let's go. I hope Tom has left something left for us to kill upstairs."

Sydney then reaches into her pocket and pulls out her walkie-talkie...

* * *

><p><em><strong>6 minutes left in Tom's life<strong>_

While Sydney's encounter with Irina was taking place 45 floors below, Tom Falk was beating the holy hell out of Arvin Sloane.

As he lies on his back and staring up at the ceiling, Sloane's face has become a bloody crimson mask. Tom's right fist is also coated in Sloane's blood.

With his right arm finally starting to get a little tired from all the punching, Tom lifts Sloane up to his feet by the front of his shirt and throws him like a rag doll into the right-side wall of the office.

Tom then looks over at Nadia, who's been quietly watching the beatdown of her father. She appears neither amused nor angry. Tom asks "Anytime you want to join in..." Nadia just shakes her head and says nothing, her arms remaining folded.

Sloane remains crumpled on the floor and has neither the energy nor the interest in getting back up again. Tom, though, is unsympathetic to this, and quickly runs up and gives him a kick in the ribs. He follows that up with a few more kicks, causing Sloane to yell and convalesce in more pain.

Tom stops and looks back over at Nadia, and then down at a table behind her...a glass table. It's a glass table that looks an awful lot like the table that Nadia was thrown through when she died.

Tom grabs Sloane and lifts him back up to his feet yet again. He gets a good look at Sloane's face this time. It's bloody, and his left jaw is swollen, and his left eye is just about swollen shut as well. His nose is very obviously broken, and Tom can see through Sloane's agape mouth that much of his teeth are broken and/or missing.

Tom slaps the side of Sloane's face and asks "You still with me? I'd just hate for you to go unconscious on me before I'm done with you!" Sloane looks back at Tom with weary, pained eyes. Then, he spits some blood on Tom's face. As Tom wipes that away, Sloane utters "The pain you're giving me pales in comparison to the pain I feel about my life's work being rendered worthless."

Tom smirks and shakes his head. "And to think, a small part of me might have thought that you would be at least a _little_ hurt over the death of Nadia." Tom then grabs Sloane's face and forces his head over so he can look at Nadia, who continues to look on expressionless. Tom snarls "Get a good look at your daughter...the one you murdered. Because if you're wondering how the hell this could have happened to you...you don't need to look any further than her. She was going to be the mother of my child, and for all intents and purposes, you died when she did. And so did I, I guess, but I have no problem dying for the woman I love." Sloane defeatedly grumbles back "And at this point, I have no problem dying over Nadia, either."

Tom looks at Sloane with a cocky look and says "If you're lucky...you're going to go out the way Nadia went out right now. Let's go for a ride!" Tom then grabs Sloane under his shoulders and lifts him up. He then runs with him over past Nadia and throws him HARD through the glass table.

However, unlike the table in Sloane's home, the table breaks into much smaller, dustier pieces. The worst pain Sloane feels now is his left shoulder, which he landed on in the fall.

Tom looks on dissatisfied that Sloane survived that fall. "If you had this table in your home...maybe Nadia would still be alive..." Sloane, as he grimaces in pain, says "Are you sure about that? What would have..." Sloane growls in pain a bit, then finishes his sentence. "...what would have stopped me from finishing the job?"

Tom raises an eyebrow and looks at Nadia. "He's got a point. And now, there's nothing that will stop me from finishing the job now, either." Nadia curiously asks "What about Sydney and Jack? You promised they'd be here to finish him off!"

Tom looks down at his watch.

_**5 minutes left**_

Tom looks back up at Nadia and says "In five minutes, I'm dead. And I have yet to hear from them. There's no way I'm dying without seeing Sloane take his last breath." Nadia just nods, but doesn't say anything. Tom, meanwhile, notices something glimmer on Sloane's desk off behind Nadia's right shoulder.

Tom walks over to the desk and realizes it's a gold letter opener Tom forms an evil smirk on his face as he takes the letter opener and walks back over towards Sloane. As he does, he holds up the letter opener in front of Nadia's face and asks "Didn't you try to protect yourself from him with one of these?" Nadia inspects it a bit, then nods. "Yeah, it was just like that one, actually."

Tom looks down at Sloane and says "Nadia, why don't you prop him up over at his desk?" Nadia bends over and starts dragging Sloane on the ground.

As she walks with him towards his desk, Sloane pleadingly says "Nadia...please tell your husband to stop." Nadia just ignores him as she grabs his shirt and sits him up, with his back on the front of his wooden desk.

Tom then bends over and starts dragging the tip of the knife lightly across his neck. Then, he stops at the front-left corner of his neck. "Nadia, this was where the glass went in your neck, right?" Nadia nods and says "That looks about right."

Tom then gets in Sloane's face and says "Now, you're going to feel what Nadia felt."

But before he can plunge the knife into Sloane's neck, Nadia finally says the word Sloane's been waiting to hear: "Stop".

Tom stops in his tracks and looks up at Nadia curiously. Sloane gulps and says "Thank you, Nadia." Nadia ignores him and tells Tom "Give me the knife."

Tom, thinking Nadia's going to finish him off, smirks and hands the knife to Nadia. Tom then stands back as Nadia takes his place in front of Sloane.

Nadia looks at the knife, then back at Sloane. "Before I kill you, I just want to know a few things first. If I were Emily, your wife, and I threw Page 47 into the fire...would you have killed me?" Sloane looks at her almost lifeless and coldly says "Yes."

Nadia quickly fires back "What if I were Jacqueline?" Sloane closes his eyes and hangs his head. "How could you ask me that?"

Nadia yells "I just want to know how a father can kill her own daughter without any remorse! I can't imagine Tom or myself doing that to Maria!" Sloane fires back "You were no longer my daughter. You told me those very words in the hospital, remember? Or did you forget while you were in your little utopia?"

Nadia shakes her head and says "No, I didn't forget those words. But that didn't stop you those times since from trying to gain my affection for you again. You thought I was that stupid, naïve woman in APO that still held hope that you could be a normal father to me." Sloane replies "You made a choice, good for you. But I made a choice as well, and you had no right to tell me I can't live with my choice."

Tom walks over angrily and says "If you became immortal, you'd be a nightmare in our lives just for the hell of it! She had no choice but to try to stop you!" Nadia looks at Tom and says "Please, let me handle this." Tom sighs and walks back over to his spot.

Nadia then looks at Sloane and says "Even though it's not the same...I still feel that feeling of postpartum that mothers feel after they lose their child before it's born...that very feeling that Emily felt after she lost Jacqueline. I loved my baby girl, even though she was four months away from being born. I can only imagine how Tom felt..." Tom replies "No, you've seen how I've been handling that these last few days." Sloane then says "It hurts, doesn't it?" Tom shakes head and says "Not as much as you're hurting right now. Although I question whether the pain is from what I've done to you or the pain of losing the love of your life. Not Emily, not Jacqueline, not Nadia...but immortality."

Sloane turns away and says nothing. Nadia leans down and says "I'm done talking to you. Enjoy hell. I hope it hurts just bad as this will." Nadia then places the tip of the letter opener on Sloane's front-left neck.

"Tom! Irina's dead, we're coming up!"

Nadia stops and looks back at Tom. He looks down at his pocket and realizes that came from Sydney. Tom looks at his watch.

_**Three minutes left**_

Tom grabs his walkie-talkie out of his pocket and says "I have three minutes left, you better hurry!" Sydney replies "We're getting into the elevator now!" Tom says "Roger that, we'll be waiting."

Tom then says to Nadia "Looks like Sloane's not going to get 'The Nadia Special' after all. Sydney and Jack are on their way." Sloane curiously asks "Did I hear that right? Irina is dead?"

Tom smirks and says "Turns out Rambaldi had the cruelest cut of them all for her. Irina was immune to The Horizon's power. And now that she's dead...no one will know what immortality feels like ever again." Sloane cracks a smirk himself. "And here, I thought you were just a mindless brute. Deceiving her sounds like something I would do." Sloane then looks at Nadia curiously. "And you had no problem with this plan of his?"

Nadia shakes her head and says "Irina was never my mother...just like you were never my father." Sloane sighs and says "Nadia, if I knew what was going to happen...I...I just thought I was going after a sure thing."

Tom looks a little appalled at that and says "And you thought Emily and Nadia weren't sure things? That was your family! Family is about the surest thing there is!" Sloane defeatedly replies "Immortality is also a sure thing. Immortality means you never have to die and never have to wonder what's on the other side. It also means you can accomplish your wildest dreams while staying on this rock. Doesn't it bother you that you're going to be dead here in a bit?"

Tom shakes his head. "No, because I know that Nadia, the greatest thing that ever happened to me, is waiting for me on the other side. The only thing that hurts me now is the friends that I'll leave behind...and the fact that I don't know if I'll get to see my daughter when I get to the afterlife. Just like how Nadia was my everything...so was my daughter Maria. But before we get too melodramatic here, I just hope you understand at the end of your life...you do reap what you sow. Think about all of the rotten shit you've done in your life to people that gave even the most remote flying crap about you...think about that as your minutes trickle down to seconds." Sloane snaps back "With that line of thinking, aren't you're reaping what you've sown?"

Tom nods and says "You could say that. But unlike you, I came to grips that I was a piece of shit. I realized that I reaped what I sowed way back then when I had much of my skeleton system overhauled in Project Alloy! But thanks to Nadia, I became the man I wanted to be in these last few months. And I'm satisfied knowing that everyone I love and care about won't be at the mercy of an immortal jackoff like you, and that I'll be able to help them out financially so they can live comfortable lives. That's my endgame...that's my legacy. What's yours?"

Before Sloane can answer that, Sydney and Jack come running into the room. They immediately spot Sloane propped up in front of his desk and looking like a bloody and beaten mess.

Sydney looks over at Tom and says "I see you two have been busy..." Nadia cuts her off. "It was mostly Tom, actually." Tom smirks...then grabs his chest and winces a bit.

Sydney concernedly asks "Is it happening?" Tom shakes his head and takes a couple deep breaths. "No...but my heart is fluttering pretty good now."

Nadia then walks over next to Sydney and bends over and picks up the shotgun that Sloane shot Tom in the face with when he entered his office. She then says "Let's get this over with." Sydney and Jack give her a quick headnod and pull out their handguns. Tom pulls out his Desert Eagle as well.

They walk over and stand in a line in front of Sloane. From Sloane's left to right, it's Jack, Sydney, Tom, and Nadia.

Everyone chambers a round in their respective guns and point them at Sloane. Sloane gulps and says "Can I say something?" Sydney tersely says "You've said enough..." Nadia finishes her sentence. "...and you've done enough. This is for Maria..."

Tom says "...this is for Nadia..." Sydney says "...this is for Danny..." Jack, with a sneer on his face as well, says "...and this is for me."

Tom then says "Alright, on my count. 3..."

"...2..."

Sloane closes his eyes and says "Let it be done."

"...1...now."

And at that moment, Nadia, Tom, Sydney, and Jack flood Sloane's body with bullets. Shot after shot after shot comes out of their guns, going into Sloane's chest and stomach. Sloane's body tenses and his face grows tight at the burning and sharp pain he feels as the bullets pierce his skin.

Jack and Sydney run out of bullets around the same time. A couple seconds later, Tom empties his clip. And then, Nadia finally runs out of shells in her autoloader shotgun.

Sloane slouches over to the right and falls lifelessly to the ground...blood being smeared on the back of the desk as evidence of the firing squad that just ended his life.

Arvin Sloane is dead.

The four of them stare at Sloane's dead body for a few seconds and let that very fact sink in for a bit.

Tom drops his gun and says "It's over. It's all over. No one has to worry anymore." Tom clutches his chest and feels his heart fluttering even worse. He realizes his death is coming up very soon. He looks down at his watch...

_**One minute, 30 seconds left**_

Tom walks over to Jack and shakes his hand. "Thank you for finding me at Langley and bringing me into APO. And thank you for letting me do what I've had to do these past couple days." Jack nods and says "Thank you for your sacrifice. You were a good agent. You'll be missed."

Tom then walks over to Sydney and gives her a hug. Sydney sheds a tear and says "I wish you didn't have to go..." Tom pats her on her back and says "It's ok. I'm going to a better place...and you're going to be better off as well. You, Vaughn, and Isabelle will be ok now. That alone makes what I did worth it."

Tom then releases the hug and says "I gave Mike my door key for the apartment. Go with him and David and read over my will. In it, you'll find that you're getting $450,000 from my legitimate salary. I only ask that you designate $250,000 of it for Isabelle's education. And this part is up to you, but I request that you retire from the CIA, go get married to Vaughn, and live a normal life from here on out. Go be a mother to Isabelle, and go be a wife to Vaughn. But, I know how dedicated you are..." Sydney shakes her head as she wipes a tear away and says "Now that I know that I have nothing to fear from this prophecy anymore, thanks a lot to you...I'm ready to move on."

Jack then says "I'm folding APO when we get back. I think it's about time I retired as well." Tom, Sydney, and Nadia all laugh at that. Sydney then happily says "I think that's a great idea!"

Nadia then gives Jack a hug and says "Thank you for everything. I wish I had you as a father." As Nadia hugs her, Jack tilts his head at that. Secretly, he always wondered if Sloane was really Nadia's father after all. But, Jack never had the courage to get a DNA test done. Oh well, too late to wonder about that now. Jack just replies "You were a great agent, and a great person. I'm happy Tom and Sydney had you in their lives." A touched Nadia says "Thank you" as she releases the hug.

Nadia then walks over to Sydney and gives her a tight hug. "I wish I could have met you earlier in life! There's so much I wanted to do with you!" Sydney smiles and says "I know. I looked so forward to Isabelle and Maria playing together!" Nadia smiles and says "Yeah, that would have been something."

Tom defeatedly asks "Still no Maria in Elysium?" Before Nadia can answer, they hear Mary say _"I just talked to Rambaldi. Laurent thinks he might have found her. They're checking to make sure the child is indeed yours."_

Nadia releases the hug suddenly and gasps loudly as she looks over at Tom. Tom's jaw drops a bit as well as he says "Oh my God, he did it." Mary says _"__Not __yet...but __there __is __hope.__"_ Nadia gets a little emotional at the news that her daughter might have been found. "I always believed he'd find her! I just hope it's true!" Sydney cracks a smile and says "I hope so, too.

Tom looks down at his watch again.

_**15 seconds left**_

Tom takes a few deep breaths. His heart feels like it's doing gymnastics now. Nadia, noticing Tom is starting to labor a little bit, walks over and holds his left hand as his right is over his chest. She comfortingly says "It's almost over." Tom nods and says "I know..."

Tom looks over at Jack and Sydney one last time. He smiles and says "Take care, you two. I'll see you all again in the future. I promise." A tear falls down Sydney's face and, with her voice cracking a bit at the prospect of Tom's impending death, says "Thank you for being a good friend and good brother-in-law! And thanks for your sacrifice, too!"

Tom gives her a quick headnod. And then, his body tenses up and he closes his eyes in pain. He grits his teeth and growls in pain...feeling the cardiac arrest that is taking place in his chest.

And then, his eyes open wide as he feels his heart burst. His eyes roll back in his head and his body collapses to the ground...

Tom Falk is dead.

...but as his body hits the ground, his spirit appears, holding Nadia's hand as he just was not a couple seconds earlier. Tom holds his chest and, noticing no pain anymore, smiles. "I'm here..." Nadia smiles wide and says "Yes you are!"

Tom looks at Nadia with a wide smile and gives her a big kiss. Sydney and Jack crack a smile, witnessing how happy they look to be in each other's presence once again.

As their bodies fade away, they release the kiss and look back at Jack and Sydney and give them one final wave.

They then disappear. Sydney hangs her head...knowing she won't see them again until she's dead herself. She then hears Nadia say _"__Don't __feel __bad...we'll __still __be __over __for __Thanksgiving __and __Christmas!__"_

Sydney laughs a bit, then looks over at her dad and says "Nadia was just telling me we haven't heard the last of them." Jack smiles, then looks down at Sloane's and Tom's dead bodies. "We have some cleaning up to do." Nadia then says _"__Oh, __Tom __just __reminded __me...Julian __Sark's __dead __body __is __in __an __empty __office __room __in __the __47__th __floor.__"_

Sydney curiously asks "What was Sark doing here?" Nadia replies _"Irina gave him up as an offering of good faith. Tom killed him."_

Sydney raises an eyebrow at that, but says nothing. She then looks over at Jack and asks "How are we going to handle my mother?" Before Jack can answer, Mary says _"Tell Jack as long as no one touches the Horizon ever again, it'll stay in Irina. Bury The Horizon with her."_

Sydney looks at Jack and says "Mary suggests that we bury The Horizon with my mother." Jack thinks for a bit and says "I have a better idea..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bunker, Missouri (Elysium version)<strong>_

Tom and Nadia reappear in the backyard of Tom's childhood home holding each other's hands. Mary Falk reappears next to them shortly after.

Mary puts her arm around Tom and says "Welcome home." Tom looks over and gives her a smile that show's he's mostly happy to be back home, but is still digesting that he's dead. In a sincere tone, he says "Thanks for everything you did for me while I was alive." Mary gives Tom a kiss on his left cheek and says "Of course! You're my baby boy!" Nadia then gives Tom a kiss on his right cheek and says "And you're my husband for eternity!"

Tom looks a little flattered at all the kissing, then starts looking around. They're in the woods. The trees look just like they were when he grew up. He sees the swing set and picnic table next to the house, along with the dirt country road that runs in front of the house off in the distance. Tom smiles as he sees everything is as it was in his childhood.

And it's still all in that blue shade.

Tom looks at Mary and says "Hey, Nadia tells me I can get rid of this blue shade that everything is in." Mary replies "Oh yes! Here's what you do, it's really simple. First close your eyes." Tom closes his eyes as instructed.

Then, Mary says "Now, repeat what I'm going to say in your mind: There is no blue shade. Everything is normal." Tom laughs and says "Come on, seriously?" Mary insistently says "Just do it...and believe it when you say it in your mind."

Tom keeps his eyes closed and, in his mind, repeats those words with strong belief. And then, he takes a deep breath and opens his eyes again...and sees the blue shade is gone and everything is indeed normal, like it would be on Earth.

Tom looks at Mary surprised and says "Wow, it actually worked!" Mary says "What I just showed you is the basis for doing a lot of things in the afterlife. If you want to go anywhere, just close your eyes and tell yourself you want to be there. If you want to look a certain way...same thing. Just close your eyes and believe it." Tom sarcastically says "So, if I want to look like a bodybuilder, I can?" Mary shrugs and says "Sure...but I know you don't want to. You'd always pick on Karen's muscle-bound boyfriends!" Nadia playfully says "Besides, you don't have to impress me! I like you just the way you are!"

As Tom looks at her with a smile, the back door of the house opens up and we see four people happily walk out to the back. Tom's jaw drops. "Wow, my family..." Mary rubs Tom's back a bit and says "They've all been waiting for you!"

Tom walks forward along the long back yard and hugs a brown-haired man about his age. He's a couple inches taller than him and looks very physically fit, with a goatee and a handsome face. The man says "It's good to see you again, brother." Tom pats him in the back and says "It's good to see you too, Eddie. You look great."

They release the hug and Eddie says "Looks like you lost a little weight since we last saw each other!" Tom smirks and says "Yeah, prison does that to you." Nadia says "And I was keeping him on a good diet, too!" Eddie laughs, then looks at Nadia, then back at Tom and says "I've enjoyed getting to know Nadia over the last couple days. I've gotta say, Tom...you got lucky with this lady!" Tom puts his arm around Nadia and says "I know. She's the best." Nadia giggles and says to Eddie "Isn't he so sweet?" Eddie smirks and says "Yeah...when he wants to be!"

Tom then turns his attention to an older couple. He walks up to the man, who looks older. His head is mostly bald, with blonde/white hair in a horseshoe around his head above his ears. He stands about eye to eye with Tom. (Note: I always envisioned Wayne Unser from Sons of Anarchy for this guy)

With a grin, the man says "Get over here, boy!" Tom smiles as he gives the man a hug and says "Good to see you, Gramps. You don't look bad for an old guy!" Edward, in mock anger, shouts "You might have grown up to be a shit-kicker, but I'm still young enough to kick your ass!"

Tom laughs as he releases the hug and says "I won't test you on that, ok? I just got here!" Edward chuckles and says "You were always smart enough to know when to fold your cards, too!"

Tom chuckles himself and looks over at the woman, who is an elderly woman who stands a couple inches shorter than Tom. Her red hair is permed and she's wearing a big smile on her face. Tom gives her a hug and says "Grandma Violet...you look great, too!" Violet laughs and says "So do you!"

Tom releases the hug and says "So, when does the Violet and Nadia duet album come out?" Violet and Nadia both laugh. Violet then says "Well, we're trying to make us a trio, but your stubborn mother isn't cooperating!" Mary puts her hand on her hips and says "I'm sure you two sound just fine together, you don't need me!" Nadia confidently looks over at Mary and says "Come on! Violet's voice is light, mine's a little deeper, you'd be a good mid-range!" Mary sighs and looks up at the sky. "Eternity never seemed so long..." Everyone laughs at that.

Tom then looks at the fourth person of the group. He's a man who's chosen to appear as a man in his early 40's. He's got brown hair and, like Eddie, looks like he's in pretty good shape as he stands about Eddie's height. His face looks a lot like Eddie's as well.

Tom eyes down the man for a bit, and then reluctantly says "Hello, Dad." In a deep voice, the man replies "Hello, son." The rest of the group looks on at the exchange. They all know about Tom Senior's alcoholism and what Tom Junior thought about that and his role in his childhood...or lack thereof.

Tom examines his father and nods in approval. He then looks back up at his father's face and says "You look good." Tom Senior despondently says "This is what I should have looked like to you when you were growing up. Tom, I'm so sorry I wasn't around when you were growing up. You didn't deserve that, Eddie didn't deserve that, and Karen didn't deserve it, either. And neither did your grandparents either." Edward just holds up a hand and says "We had a long talk about that when you died, Tom. Water under the bridge."

Tom Senior gives Edward a relieved smile and looks back at his son. "Anyway, now that you're here, I just want you to give me another chance. I want to be the father that I should have been to you." Tom flatly replies "All I ever asked from you is to just make the effort. I never asked for you to be the best dad in the world...I just wanted you to be a dad period."

Tom Senior nods quickly and says "I know. And I couldn't even do that. That fact still kills me...even in a place where things shouldn't get to me like they would on Earth. I just beg you...allow me to make the effort that you asked for." Tom sighs and turns to look at his brother Eddie. "How has he been to you since he got here?" Eddie replies "He's been straight with me." Edward then says "He has no reason to do what he did to you again, kid." Mary then says "That's right. There is no such thing as addiction here. And ever since he got here..." Mary turns to Tom Senior with a smile. "...he's been that man I fell in love with all those decades ago!" Tom Senior gives Mary a wide grin back.

Tom then turns to Nadia and asks "You said he's been ok to you, too?" Nadia nods and says "Yeah, he's been wonderful, actually. Give him a chance, Tom. I wouldn't say that if I didn't think he was a good man in his heart."

Tom then turns back to his father. Tom Senior looks on hopeful that Tom is going to forgive him. Tom takes a deep breath and says "Because you're willing to make the effort...I'll make the effort to forgive you." Tom then gives his father a tight hug. Tom Senior returns the hug and says "Thank you. Thank you so much." Tom shakes his head and says "No, thank you, Dad. Thanks for making the effort." Violet then exclaims "That's not all he's done!"

Tom releases the hug and looks at her curiously. "What do you mean?" Eddie smirks and says "Me, Gramps, and Dad have been a little busy at your home." Nadia's eyes widen and says "Our home? In San Felipe?" Tom Senior nods and says "Yeah, we've been clearing out your apartment and moving your things in. When you can jump from place to place by simply closing your eyes and telling yourself you're going to be there...it makes long distance moving easy!"

Tom smiles and says "Thanks!" Edward smirks himself and says "We've...had a little help from your old friends as well." Tom's eyes widen and he says "Who?" Edward replies "You'll see here in a bit." Tom then looks around and says "Who here's up for a trip to Mexico?" Everyone nods in agreement and looks happy to go.

"Excuse me?"

The voice comes from behind Tom, Mary, and Nadia, towards where they originally appeared. The accent of the voice is very, very French.

Everyone turns and looks over to see a somewhat tall man wearing an off-white robe. His face looks an awful lot like Tom's. His hair is also short and blonde, and his eyes are dark blue.

But everyone isn't too concerned with what his face looks like...they're more concerned with what he's holding in his arms. He's appears to be holding something that's wrapped up in a blanket.

Nadia gasps and cups her hands over her mouth, realizing what he's holding. Tom's jaw drops as well as he asks "Laurent?" Laurent replies "Yes, I am Laurent L'Andre. I found your child."

With that, Nadia bolts and runs towards Laurent. Tom jogs behind her, and everyone else follows them over quickly.

Nadia arrives and looks at the bundle in Laurent's arms. She folds down the blanket to reveal a baby's face. Nadia's eyes get watery and her bottom lip quivers a bit as she realizes that she's staring at Maria...her daughter that she carried in her womb for 5 months before she died.

Maria looks back at her mother with an expressionless look. Physically, she looks like a newborn, with dark blue eyes and a cute face.

Nadia looks up at Laurent and says "Can I hold her?" Laurent nods and says "Of course, she is yours." Laurent then hands Nadia the baby.

Tom stands behind Nadia and looks at his daughter for the first time. Maria looks back at him and the two stare at each other for a while, with Tom having a giant smile on his face. He takes note that Maria has his eyes and nose, but seems to have taken after Nadia for the rest of her face and head...right down to her black hair.

Nadia holds Maria in her arms and looks so happy to see her daughter and to hold her in her arms. They both stare at each other for a bit before Nadia softly says "Hi, Maria! I'm your mommy! I love you so much!" Maria grunts a little bit and opens her eyes wider...perhaps recognizing her mother's voice from her time in the womb.

As he looks at his daughter as well, Tom asks Laurent "How did you find her?" Laurent, in a very laid-back voice, replies "She was not easy to find. I checked your home in San Felipe first. When I couldn't find her there, I started checking the hospitals in San Felipe...I checked doctors offices, then all around town and I still was not able to locate her."

Nadia looks up and asks "So, where was she?" Laurent replies "I consulted Milo Rambaldi about this, after not being able to find her in San Felipe. He suggested that I look in Los Angeles, where you two resided when you died. He postulated that maybe you would have given birth to her there, perhaps during a weekend visit to your sister, Nadia. I checked your apartment as well as Sloane's house, where you died. She was in neither one of those places. So, I started looking in hospitals. It took me a while because there are a lot of hospitals in Los Angeles. Finally...I spotted her in the nursery ward in the last hospital I checked. She was still a 5 month old fetus, but since you had given her a name, she was labeled as Maria Falk. I called Rambaldi over to the hospital and he checked Maria's blood. He discovered that Maria has The Lifeforce in her bloodstream...confirming that she is yours."

Tom strokes Maria's head and says "She looks like a newborn! How did Milo do that?" Laurent replies "He was able to manipulate time. While he held her in his hands, she advanced 4 months in a matter of 4 seconds. The process was just completed not 5 minutes ago, actually. I am pleased to see that she appears to be very healthy."

Nadia then looks up at Tom and says "Would you like to hold her?" Tom happily says "Yeah!" Nadia then gently hands Maria over to Tom. Tom holds Maria in his arms and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm your daddy, Maria! I'm so happy to see you, too!" Tom then stares at her daughter for a while. Tom always wanted this moment...to bond with his daughter. And now, he's getting to experience that moment.

As Tom and Maria bond, Nadia asks "Is she going to be able to grow up like a normal child?" Laurent nods and says "Yes. When Rambaldi advanced her age, she also put her in normal mode." Tom looks up at Laurent and asks "What's normal mode?" Before Laurent answers, Mary replies "It's one of the settings you can live by in Elysium. Your default setting, for lack of a better term, is to remain looking as you were when you died for eternity. But, you can allow yourself to grow and age normally if you like."

Tom then says "I can also feel hunger, pain, joy, sadness...all that good stuff as well?" Mary nods and says "Of course. I'll show you how to do all that a little later."

Tom then looks back at Laurent a little funny. "You know, I feel like I'm staring into a mirror when I look at you! You do look like me!" Laurent laughs and says "I always imagined myself doing what you just got done doing, so perhaps it is fitting that we look alike. Oh, speaking of which, Rambaldi wanted me to tell you, Nadia, and Mary that he was very happy with what transpired on Earth. You all did very well, and he is satisfied that his prophecy is now dead. Anyway, I best be going. Farewell, everyone."

Laurent then closes his eyes, but before he goes, Mary shouts "Wait!" Laurent opens his eyes and asks "What is it?" Mary says "We're going to have a cookout at Tom and Nadia's place tonight. You're more than welcome to come..." Laurent shakes his head. "I appreciate the offer...and maybe someday I will take you up on it. But my wife has dinner plans of her own. She's got quite the temper when I'm not home for dinner."

Everyone laughs a bit at that. Then, Tom says "I owe you big time for finding Maria. Thank you so much." Nadia says "Yeah, thank you!" Laurent shakes his head and says "It was no problem at all. I am more than happy to help my family. Take care everyone."

Then, Laurent closes his eyes and disappears.

Tom then looks down at Maria and says "That was your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great granddaddy! Don't you think it was so nice of him to find you?" Maria just looks back at her father blankly.

Tom looks up at Mary and says "How would you like to hold your granddaughter?" Mary smiles wide and says "I would love to!"

Tom then hands Maria over to Mary, the woman who was one half of the inspiration for her name. Mary looks deeply into Maria's eyes and says "You look so precious, Maria! Your grandma loves you, too! Yes she does!"

Tom puts his arm around Nadia and gives her a kiss on the forehead. Nadia turns to Tom and gives him a hug. "I'm so happy that I get to be a mom after all!" Tom rubs her back and says "I know you are. You're going to do great."

Tom Senior looks over Mary's shoulder at Maria and says "She's got her mother's good looks!" Nadia laughs as she releases the hug with Tom and says "You think? I thought she looks a lot like Tom!" Tom shakes his head and says "She's got my eyes and nose, but everything else is all you, babe." Eddie and Edward both nod in agreement, with Edward saying "Yeah, he's right. She's a great looking kid!" Violet then says "She's going to be gorgeous, I can already tell!"

Tom looks at Nadia and says "Well, my dad is right. She's going to have your good looks." Nadia rolls her eyes and says "She's going to have OUR good looks!" Eddie looks at Nadia funny and says "Thank goodness Tom found a beautiful woman that has vision problems!" Tom shakes his head and punches Eddie hard in the shoulder. "You were always an ass!"

Eddie laughs as rubs his shoulder. Then, he curiously asks "I thought you had a titanium skeleton? That's as hard as you can punch?" Tom looks down at his hand and says "You know...come to think of it...I do feel a little different actually. Maybe I'm back to normal."

Mary then looks up from Maria and says "Hey, let's go check out your house! Nadia, hold Tom's hand and take him down there with you. He'll have to be shown how to teleport later." Nadia nods and holds Tom's hand.

Then, everyone closes their eyes and disappear.

* * *

><p><em><strong>San Felipe (Elysium version)<strong>_

Everyone appears in front of the house that Tom and Nadia were going to purchase in San Felipe. It looks just as it did in real life.

Tom and Nadia lead everyone up to the front door. Tom opens the front door, and spots six people arranging furniture in the living room. They all look up and see Tom, Nadia, and the rest of his family have arrived.

Tom has a giant smile when he sees the men that have gathered in his house. With that giant smile, walks forward and says "My brothers!" They all happily rush over and huddle around Tom and give him slaps on the back and head rubs. As Nadia watches the spectacle take place in amazement, she says "So, this is Storm Crew! They look more like a fraternity than a CIA tactical team!"

Finally, the mob disperses. Tom looks up at a tall, muscular black man with a shaved head and goatee (_Note: __Think __Terry __Crews __here_) and says "Chris Cooper! What's up, big guy?" Chris gives him a poundhug and says "Man, it's good to see you again, Tom! You look good, man!"

Tom releases the poundhug and says "I see you're still hitting the weights!" Chris chuckles and says "Yeah, we all ain't got jobs and our wives and girlfriends are still back on Earth, so we're all on the patented Chris Cooper workout plan!"

Tom hangs his head at the mention of their wives and girlfriends. "Yeah, I'm sorry I sent you guys here..." A hispanic man with a shaved head, average height, and laid-back demeanor pats Tom on the shoulder and says "We forgave you for Torino a long time ago." Chris nods and says "Yeah, we all knew the risk of what we did. Don't let it bother you, shit happens, man." Tom smiles at Chris and says "I appreciate that."

The hispanic man looks over Tom's shoulder and spots Nadia. "Ah yes, the woman that stole Tom's heart..." Nadia smiles and says "Hey, I remember you from the Conquistadores mission! Eddie Alvarez, right?" Eddie laughs and says "Guilty as charged! Thanks for taking care of my boy here!" Nadia giggles and says "No problem! He always took such good care of me!"

Tom then turns and points at a somewhat tall red-headed young Irishman. "Nadia, you met Chris, you met Eddie...this tall drink of Irish ale here is Charlie O'Doyle. Best explosives guy in Elysium." Nadia shakes Charlie's hand. "Good to meet you." In a thick, laid-back Irish accent, Charlie modestly replies "Pleasure finally meet you, ma'am."

Tom then points to the man at his left, another tall, muscular black man that's a little more laid-back than Chris. "This is Jerome Thompson. Speaks softly, but he plays hard. He was a great asset on my team." Jerome shakes Nadia's hand. "Nice to meet you, Nadia." Nadia smiles and says "Nice to meet you, too."

Tom then puts his arm around a tall, lanky man with a black chinstrap beard and a very Southern look. "Now, this tall slice of Alabama redneck..." The man looks down and, in a thick Southern drawl, says "Who are you to talk about rednecks, southern Missouri?" Tom looks at the man funny and says "There's rednecks and there's Alabama rednecks, Jacob! Remember? That was your motto!" Jacob rolls his eyes and extends his hand towards Nadia for a handshake. "Jacob Jackson at your service, ma'am. If it's got wheels, it's my deal!" Nadia laughs at Jacob's bravado and says "If I ever have car trouble in Elysium, I'll be sure to talk to you!"

Tom then points over at a very young looking man of average height and dismissively says "And that snot-nosed rookie is Luke Winter. He's alright." Luke irritatedly looks over at Tom and says "You know, I hoped one day that I wouldn't be your rookie whipping post! Is this what eternity is going to be like with you?" Tom smirks and says "You know, you're actually right, you're not a rookie anymore, and Mitch assumed the role of team bitch after he screwed us over in Cordoba. Let me try this again..."

Tom looks back at Nadia. "Nadia, this is Luke Winter. He started off as a rookie in Storm Crew, but he ended as a very solid hand." Nadia shakes Luke's hand and says "Don't worry, I won't let my husband be too rough on you in the future, ok?" Luke shrugs and says "I can handle him." Tom raises an eyebrow and says "Oh really? You want to put your money where your mouth is sometime?" Luke extends his arms and says "Bring it!" Tom looks at Chris and asks "When did rookieboy get so cocky?" Chris rolls his eyes and says "He's been beating his chest since he got lucky on Jacob a couple years back. Got him to tap out to...what was that thing you put on him?" Luke laughs and says "Gogoplata! GO-GO-PLA-TA!" Jacob irritatedly says "I still hear that word in my nightmares, you Minnesotan bastard!"

Nadia shakes her head in astonishment and says to Tom "I know you said you guys were different from your usual CIA agents, but you guys are something else!" Tom pats Chris on the shoulder and says "We're all a brotherhood. It's easier to have the back of a friend than just another co-worker, and these guys became my brothers from another mother. And of course, Chris has been my brother since he joined me and Mike in the Anti-Cartel in 1997."

Chris slaps Tom on the arm and says "Speaking of Mikey, I still can't believe, of all the people on Earth, he hooks up with your sister! That's just crazy!" Mary replies "Hey, I think they're a fine couple!" Chris chuckles and says "Yeah, I guess they are...it's just funny how small the world is sometimes, ya know? I thought Mike would never find love!" Tom sincerely says "You and me both. But, I also worried about Karen in that department as well. Her life has been one bad relationship after another. I'm proud of them both. They both deserve each other." Eddie Falk nods and says "I agree. She seems very happy with him."

Nadia then walks over to Mary and picks up Maria from her shoulder. "Tom forgot to introduce to you to the newest member of our family! Say hi to our daughter Maria!" Almost in unison, the Storm Crew guys let out an "Aww!" and huddle around Nadia and say their hellos to Maria, who just looks at them a little alarmed at the attention.

Chris then pats Tom on the shoulder and says "That's a beautiful kid, man. Congrats." Tom replies "Thanks. She never had the chance to be born, but she was far along enough to be found here in the afterlife. I feel like she's my reward for doing all I did. I'm going to enjoy watching her grow up." Chris then happily says "Well, she's got seven uncles here...your brother and your Storm Crew family." Tom smiles and says "I appreciate it, big guy."

Tom then looks around and says "You guys really didn't have to help me move in..." Eddie Alvarez looks over and says "Wasn't like we had anything better to do." Luke then says "Besides, it's pretty nice down here. Helping you move in is a pretty good excuse to be in paradise!" Charlie pats Tom on the shoulder and says "It was our pleasure to help you two out."

Nadia looks up from Maria and says "Thank you guys so much. Everything looks great!" Chris then says "Nadia, you took care of my boy while he was going through the lowest point of his life. Before he joined APO, he was rotting in Langley, recovering from Project Alloy, and of course, there's what his ex-wife told him before she left..." Mary says "Please don't bring up Kate again. I hate that bitch." Chris holds up his hands a bit alarmed and says "No problem, no problem! I hate her, too for what she did to my boy! I saw the whole damn thing when he got back." Chris then looks back at Nadia and says "Like I was saying, you helped my boy Tom out so much. We're more than happy to make your life a little easier, too." Jerome then says "Yeah, I know you two would have done the same for us." Eddie Alvarez then says "Besides, Nadia, I saw what you did with Mike and David to get Tom sprung from prison...in fact, that was your Storm Crew initiation!" Nadia laughs as she sets Maria on her shoulder and says "Well, I look forward to getting to know the Storm Crew that I never got to know in life!"

Eddie Falk then walks over to Tom and asks "You hungry?" Edward insistently says "I'm starving!" Tom Senior then says "We were going to grill some steaks out in the back porch. I thought we'd all just chill out and relax on the porch for your first night in Elysium." Tom smirks and says "Sounds good to me, Dad." Nadia turns to Mary and says "I'm sure Maria's going to get hungry, too..." Mary holds up her hand and says "We got you some formula to get started. I'll show you how to make it." Violet then says "And I'll get started on the sides!"

Chris then says "I'll show you what all we've been doing to get you moved in, Tom! Let's go for a tour!" Tom smiles and says "Sounds good, bud."

The Storm Crew members would join Tom in taking a tour of the house and to see how they've arranged Tom and Nadia's belongings. Eddie Falk and Tom Senior would start to get the steaks going in the back patio. Mary and Nadia would hang out with Maria as Mary showed her where Maria's diapers and other baby things are. Edward and Violet would start on the non-steak items for their cookout.

It would be a very nice first night for Tom and Nadia in their new home.

* * *

><p><strong>EPILOGUE<strong>

The next day, in the real world, Sydney, David, Mike, and Karen would go to Tom and Nadia's apartment to sort out Tom's will. They went inside and found the will on the coffee table, along with various sets of keys.

When Mike returned home and told Karen about Tom's death, she took it very hard, seeing as he was her last brother that was still alive. Mike vaguely explained why Tom did what he did, but decided to leave the details for Tom to give her.

As she sits on the couch overlooking the will with Mike, David, and Karen, she hears Tom say _"Hey, I'm ready to talk." _Sydney nods, then turns to Karen. "Karen, there's something you should know about your brother." Karen looks at her and asks "What is it?" Sydney replies "Even though he's dead...he can still talk to you. He wants to talk to you now?" Karen's jaw goes agape. "How?"

_"Hey, __big __sister.__"_

Karen gasps and shrieks in shock and starts looking around for Tom. As Mike tries to calm her down, Sydney says "It's ok. Tom's learned how to talk to you from the afterlife." Karen looks at Sydney all spooked and says "You heard him, too?" Sydney nods and says "He can talk to me, too."

And then, Karen hears a chain of voices:

"_Hey Karen, this is Nadia."_

"_This is your mother."_

"_This is your father."_

"_And this is your little brother Eddie!"_

Karen starts sobbing and she buries her head in her hands. As she sobs, she lets out a muffled "How is this possible?" Tom replies _"Karen, there's a lot you don't know about me and your mother. What we have to say will help explain why I did what I did over the last few days, and why I lost my life. Karen, go to the bedroom and close the door. Sydney, tell Mike that this will take a little while." _Sydney curiously asks "You're telling her everything?" Tom replies _"Yes...everything."_

Karen stands up and walks into the bedroom and closes the door. For the next couple hours she heard the story of Tom's time in the Anti-Cartel, Torino, the story of Project Alloy, the year of misery that followed Project Alloy, discovering Nadia in APO, his and Nadia's role in Rambaldi's prophecy, Sovogda, Nadia's cure, Tom's freeing from prison, Tom's decaying left arm, The Connection, The Lifeforce, Mary's sacrifice for Nadia, and Tom's sacrifice to bury Rambaldi's prophecy.

A few hours later, she would reemerge from the bedroom...stunned over what she just heard. Mike walks over and gives her a hug. Karen returns the hug and says "I feel so much more blessed to have you in my life, Mike. You were such a good friend to Tom." Mike pats Karen on the back and says "And he was a good friend to me." David, from the living room, says "Same here." Sydney nods and says "Tom was a great friend, Karen. I was fortunate to have known him."

Karen releases the hug and, with heartfelt tears in her eyes, says "And I'm glad you all got got to know him, too. I had no idea what all he went through...he never let on..." Sydney says "That wasn't his style. He kept Project Alloy hidden from me and Nadia for a couple months until it actually saved his life during a mission he and Nadia were in. He never wanted his experiences to define him to others, especially you."

Karen nods, then looks up at Mike. "I take it you're going down to Campeche to his safehouse after the funeral?" Mike nods and says "I've already set it up to get the money sent stateside. I have a guy I go through that will launder and convert it at 95 cents on the dollar." Karen smiles and says "At least my brother's taking care of all of us.

Tom's funeral would be held a day later, after his body finally made it over from Brussels. It was a similar funeral to the one Nadia had, although the tenor wasn't as sad because they all knew what Tom died for...to make their lives easier. Tom would then be buried next to Nadia and Maria.

Irina Derevko didn't have a funeral. In fact, Jack's idea was to send her, along with The Horizon and it's power, to outer space. He arranged her body to be sent up through the Chinese government. As Tom's funeral took place, Irina was launched into space. The Horizon would forever remain floating in outer space, and out of the hands of anyone who would ever want it.

Sydney and Vaughn would retire almost immediately after they returned from Brussels. Jack would fold APO not too long after that.

Sydney and Vaughn married each other 6 months later. Nadia served as Sydney's maid of honor despite not being alive or being able to help out with her dress since Tom was no longer alive to give her physical powers. Tom was also present at the wedding, as were Mike and Karen and the rest of the APO gang. It was a very beautiful wedding in Santa Barbara...just what they wanted. Sydney would later give birth to her son Jack. Jack Bristow was very touched at the gesture.

David and Lisa Marston would live comfortably, working as computer technology consultants together in Baltimore and living off of that and Tom's inheritance.

Mike and Karen would actually remain in Bunker, Missouri. Mike decided to start a security business with part of his inheritance from Tom. His business would pick up a lot of regional contracts and did rather well. The name of the company? Storm Crew Security. Their child would be born 7 months after the Project Nadia mission. Karen would give birth to a boy. They named the boy Thomas Loren Walcott...after it's uncle.

After Thomas was born, Mike proposed to Karen. She happily said yes, and the wedding would be held a few months later. Nadia served as Karen's maid of honor while David served as best man. Tom and the rest of Storm Crew were also there as well, with Sydney serving as their medium between them and Mike before the wedding.

* * *

><p><em><strong>San Felipe (Elysium version)<strong>_

The following morning after Tom arrived in Elysium, we see Tom and Nadia sleeping in their king-sized bed. As usual, Nadia is on the left and Tom's on the right. They both have their arms wrapped around each other as they lie in their silk sheets.

The orange sun starts to show it's first signs of light through the blinds in their windows.

Tom slowly opens his eyes and sees Nadia, the love of his life, sleeping peacefully next to him. His heart immediately warms up at the sight of her. His heart had longed for her since she died a few days ago, and now, here she is: sleeping peacefully next to him, like so many mornings before.

Like a lot of mornings they share together, some of Nadia's long black hair has fallen over her face. Tom reaches over and lightly brushes it away and tucks it behind her right ear.

She smiles, knowing that Tom just brushed her head back.

Tom leans over and gives Nadia a kiss on the forehead and says "Good morning, beautiful." With her eyes still closed, she happily and sleepily replies "Good morning, handsome."

Nadia then opens her eyes and locks eyes with Tom for the first time this morning. Like Tom, her heart also longed for him in the past couple of days she's spent in Elysium. And now, he's here, too.

Nadia leans forward and gives Tom a long, soft kiss. When she releases, Tom says "You're still a great kisser even in the afterlife!" Nadia giggles and says "Why thank you! You still got it, too!"

Tom smiles, then asks "How did you sleep?" Nadia smiles wide and says "Fantastic! I always sleep so well when you hold me in your arms..." Tom chuckles and says "And I sleep so well when I'm in yours."

Nadia rubs Tom's left hip and says "That was a great night we had last night." Tom nods and says "Yeah, it was. It was good to catch up with everyone! My old friends...my family..."

Nadia says "You looked like you were really having fun!" Tom laughs and says "Maybe a little too much fun! But I could tell you were enjoying yourself as well." Nadia looks down and says "Your family has been nothing but wonderful since I got here...I feel so blessed to be a part of your family, Tom. I've always wanted to be in a family like yours."

Tom smiles and says "I'm glad you're part of the family, too. And I'm glad we have a little family of our own in this house...me, you, and our beautiful baby girl." Nadia smiles wide. But the smile would disappear, and a look of concern forms on Nadia's face as lies on her back. She says "I just realized that we were missing someone last night."

Tom curiously asks "Who?" Nadia looks over at Tom. "Remember me telling you about my friend Julieta?" Tom nods and says "The one you would stare at the stars with every night. Is she in Elysium?"

Nadia nods as she leans back on her side and says "Yeah. I ran into her right after I died and arrived in the afterlife. I was sent back to the orphanage and she was there. She died when she was a teen and, even now, she looked so alone. She had a rough life after she left the orphanage and never had anyone to lean on...I should have tried to find her and brought her here last night." Tom rubs Nadia's side to comfort her a bit and says "We'll have plenty of time to bring her here. She's more than welcome here. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine." Nadia smiles and says "Thank you. Maybe I can go find her today..."

"WAAAHH!"

That sound comes from the baby monitor on the bedside table next to Nadia. Nadia looks over at the monitor and says "Uh-oh! Someone's hungry!" Tom smiles and says "Well, I guess it's time for you to be Supermommy!" Nadia giggles as she gives Tom a peck on the lips before getting up out of bed.

Nadia throws on her nightgown and walks out of their bedroom and walks into the first bedroom on the left, which is really a nursery for Maria. She walks over to the crib and sees Maria is crying and pitching a fit. Nadia comfortingly says "Shh! It's ok, mommy's here!"

Nadia feels her diaper and notices it's warm. She walks over to a small white dresser and opens the top drawer and pulls out a diaper and baby wipes. She then changes Maria's diaper, but notices Maria is still pitching a fit when it's done.

Nadia leans over and picks up Maria and carries her out of the nursery.

She quickly walks to the kitchen, calmly saying "It's ok...it's ok..." repeatedly until she gets to the fridge. She opens the fridge and pulls out a pre-made bottle of formula...a suggestion that Mary made so they don't have to scramble to make a new bottle in the morning.

Nadia then decides going outside in the calm sea breeze might help her calm down as well. She walks with Maria over to the patio door in the living room and steps out.

Tom, meanwhile, has decided there's no way he's going back to sleep. He wants to be with Nadia and Maria this morning.

He gets up out of bed and puts on a bathrobe and walks out of the bedroom. He walks down the hallway and then out the back patio door.

When he gets out, he sees Nadia standing along the shore line, feeding Maria and watching the sunrise. Maria has since quieted down.

Nadia feels the waves crash on her leg and the gentle sea breeze brushing against her face. She looks at the sun starting to crack over the sea, and then back down at Maria, who's happily chugging her breakfast. Nadia feels so happy to be alive...well, as alive as you can be in the afterlife, anyway.

Soon, she feels a pair of arms wrap around her waist and the sensation of a kiss on her right cheek. Nadia looks back and sees Tom has joined her. The two exchange wide smiles at each other.

Tom then looks down and gives Maria a kiss on the forehead. Maria looks up at him for a brief second to see who it was that kissed her, then looks back at her mother as she gulps down her breakfast.

Tom then slides his left arm up Nadia's back and puts his arm around her shoulders. He too watches the sunrise coming up over the sea, the waves crashing on his legs, the gentle sea breeze...this feels perfect to him, too. Nadia looks over at Tom, and then joins him in looking out at the sunrise.

They think about the circumstances that got them to this point. A force that neither one one of them knew existed in them attracted them to each other five years earlier in Argentina, when Tom and Nadia participated in a joint mission together to rescue a doctor from a local gang's custody.

Even though it would be a few years before they would reunite in person...the seeds were planted for the greatest love they would ever experience with each other. And despite all the ups and downs, their love endured, even now after death.

Love conquered them and changed their lives forever. Love also conquered Arvin Sloane, Irina Derevko, Kelly Peyton, Julian Sark, and The Alliance of Twelve. It was love that brought their lives to an end, and brought about the destruction of a prophecy that was researched and pursued by many for decades. No one would ever experience immortality ever again, and their friends would be taken care of thanks to their sacrifice.

As Tom and Nadia look out over the horizon, one undeniable fact stands out for the both of them...

Love does indeed conquer all.

**THE END**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author note: For every beginning, there is indeed an end. And this is the end of the road for Project Nadia. This project, when I set out to overhaul it after the abortion the first Project Nadia was, has exceeded my wildest expectations when I started it over again. I never guessed that it would cross even 200,000 words, much less 360,000 plus. The first chapter of this story was just 3,003 words. And when I posted it for the world to see, I had no idea that the story of Tom Falk and Nadia SantosFalk would end with a 30,000 word mountain.**_

_**Unlike the first go-around with Project Nadia, I truly feel I have a complete story here. It was a joy to write throughout, and it was a joy to see the story just continue to blossom.**_

_**I'm going to admit right here and now that I had next to no expectations for the Mary Falk character when I started, but when I look back on this story...she became my favorite character to write by far. I was hesitant to pull the trigger on her backstory in 'Diary of a Mother', but when I was done with that chapter, I was happy I did pull the trigger on that because I knew I had a quality, quality character on my hands. Admittedly, Mary's role in the end of the story was much larger than I had initially planned. Bottom line: If you were to ask me what facet of this story I enjoyed the most, it wasn't the romantic or cute moments Tom and Nadia had. It wasn't Tom's violent moments or even his eventual comeuppance on Sloane, either. It was the entire Mary Falk character.**_

_**Ok, enough self-gloating. Thank you to EVERYONE who has enjoyed and read this story. Thanks especially to xo-sapphire-xo, irinab, and Coconutmags for the feedback throughout this story. I wrote this so I could entertain you all and I'm happy with the support that Project Nadia received this go-around.**_

_**It's been my pleasure to bring this story to you all. Thank you for letting me share it.**_

_**-Thomas W.**_


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